Hetalia: The Swan Prince
by Mimi Tsukiyomi7567
Summary: Alfred and Arthur are princes engaged to be married, until the evil enchanter Ivan kidnaps Arthur and puts a spell on him. Based off The Swan Princess. BoyxBoy warning.
1. Meeting and Falling

**This is my first fic, so go easy on me. I would like some constructive criticism though, some help to make me a better writer. I was going to write a sequel to Reflective Reviewer 7's version of this but I wanted to make a couple changes so I decided to write the first movie first.**

**So here we go!**

* * *

Chapter 1

_Once upon a time there was a king named Scott who ruled a large and mighty kingdom. And yet he was sad, for he was growing old and had no child to inherit the throne. Then, happily, a son was born; a prince. And he was given the name...Arthur._

_Kings and queens came from all around to offer their gifts to the child. Among them was the young widow Queen Elizaveta and her son Prince Alfred._

The young Prince Alfred had dirty blonde hair (neatly combed except for one strand that stuck up no matter what was done to control it) and the bluest eyes you've ever seen. Carrying his gift for the newborn, a golden locket with a swan engraved on it, he approached Arthur's bassinet. He looked over the edge and the first thing he noticed about the baby was his big green eyes, like a forest in summer time. Alfred smiled as he dangled the necklace over Arthur, just above his outstretched hands. Little Arthur giggled as he received his present from the stranger, making Alfred grin wider at making the newborn prince laugh.

_It was then that Scott and Elizaveta happened upon the same idea. Alfred and Arthur would be brought together each summer in hopes that they would fall in love and join their kingdoms forever._

_But unknown to all was another plan. That of the evil enchanter Ivan. Arthur's birth was of little concern to him. For he was preparing to take Scott's kingdom by means of the Forbidden Arts._

In his underground lair, Ivan was by the fireplace waving his hands through the air. Colored smoke formed images by his will. In a cloud of blue, the image of King Scott holding his baby boy appeared. Then a strike of red transformed the picture into a bat-like monster.

_On the eve of his assault, Scott attacked and Ivan's powers were plunged into darkness._

At that moment, Scott's soldiers barged in, destroying everything. Ivan's servant, Toris, hid behind the tall sorcerer in fear. While the soldiers were arresting Ivan, the timid brunette escaped, the soldiers not caring about him enough to capture him, too.

_Despite calls for his death, the enchanter was only banished._

On the outskirts of his kingdom, King Scott sat on his horse with his soldiers beside him. As soon as Ivan was free of his chains he pushed the men unlocking his restraints away from him. He turned to the king with a childlike smile.

"I'm not finished with you yet, Scotty~ Someday I'll get my power back and when I do, everything you own, everything you love..will be mine."

Though he spoke as if talking about the weather and smiled innocently, his piercing violet irises gave away his anger and malice. Scott merely glared back at the banished sorcerer and pointed to the forest outside his kingdom, watching him go.

_Many feared King Scott too kind. But in time the threat was forgotten and all hopes turned to that not so far away summer when Alfred and Arthur would meet._

* * *

It was a bright summer day, the first summer Prince Alfred and Prince Arthur would be spending together in Queen Elizaveta's kingdom. The chamberlain with shoulder-length blonde hair stood on a tower of the castle looking through a telescope, waiting for their guests to arrive. When he spotted them riding up to the gates on horseback, Arthur riding with his father on his horse, he grinned and blew his trumpet announcing their arrival.

Queen Elizaveta and Prince Alfred stood at the gates to welcome the visiting King and his son. She curtsied to them as they dismounted their steed, nudging Alfred to bow as well. The young prince pouted but bowed anyway.

"Welcome to our fair kingdom dear Scott. And to you, young Arthur." The widowed queen smiled sweetly down at her small guest seeing how nervous he was.

"And who might this young lad be? Can't be Alfred." Scott winked at Elizaveta and she winked back. It was finally time to put their plan into motion.

Arthur stayed close to his father, noticing that the other prince didn't seem so keen on meeting him. While Elizaveta and Scott chatted, Alfred observed his future "queen". His eyes were as green as he remembered and his blonde hair had gotten wilder, which was to be expected since it's obviously gotten longer since he was an infant.

While Scott lightly pushed Arthur forward, Elizaveta did the same to Alfred. "Go on, Alfred." But when he resisted her pushing she tried a different approach. "Dear, go on," she said a bit more sternly, nudging him again.

"Mom.."

"Alfred."

Reluctantly, he forced himself to march forward up to Prince Arthur. He glanced away, not wanting to look him in the eye.

"Hello Prince Arthur, I'm very pleased to meet you."

Alfred wasn't even trying to hide his displeasure. But Arthur decided he would try to be the bigger person and bowed to the other as he responded.

"Pleased to meet you, Prince Alfred." But when he looked back up, his betrothed had already turned away and walked back to his mother.

When Elizaveta gave her son a look and pointed back to the ditched prince, he rolled his eyes and turned back to Arthur. He knew what his mother wanted, what she expected from him. So he took the shorter blonde's hand, not seeing the scowl on his face. After a minute of hesitation and talking himself into it, he leaned down and quickly kissed the top of his hand.

The second Alfred let go of his hand, Arthur wiped the kiss off on his trousers and watched insulted as Alfred wiped his mouth on his shirt sleeve.

_'I can't believe I'm stuck with him all summer,'_ Alfred sang in his head. _'I'll bet he doesn't wrestle, hunt, or box.'_

_'He looks conceited.'_

_'What a total bummer.'_

_'If I get lucky I'll get chicken pox,'_ they both thought hopefully.

_"So happy you could come,"_ sang Alfred.

_"So happy to be here,"_ sang Arthur.

_'How I'd like to run..'_ they thought simultaneously.

With a thick raised eyebrow, Arthur sang, _"This is not my idea-"_

_"This isn't my idea.."_ Alfred interrupted.

_"...of fun,"_ they said, turning away from each other with crossed arms.

Once they were all back inside, the children were left to play with wooden swords while Scott and Elizaveta talked about how well the first meeting went.

_"The children seem to get along quite nicely."_ As Elizaveta said this, behind them Arthur tripped the older prince and pounced on him in attack.

_"We'll join our lands if this arrangement clicks,"_ Scott mused.

_"My dear King Scott, that's my point. Precisely."_

_"It's such good parenting."_

_"And politics. So happy we agree~"_

_"I think we've got a deal."_

_"Alfred's quite a catch~"_

_"This is my idea-"_

_"This is MY idea.."_ the queen interrupted.

_"...of a match,"_ they said together. Catching the boys as they ran past, they held them apart to keep them from fighting. Elizaveta laughed, _"And such fun!"_

* * *

As the summers passed, the two princes grew up into pre-teens, still disliking each other as much as they did the first day they met. King Scott was preparing to leave for Queen Elizaveta's kingdom for the summer once again, but his son was nowhere to be seen. The redhead looked up to the balcony of Arthur's bedroom.

_"Good heavens, lad, don't dawdle! We can't keep Alfred waiting!"_

The green eyed blonde came out and looked down at his father, not hiding the dread on his face. _"I haven't packed or washed my hair, and father I get seasick."_

Over in Elizaveta's kingdom, Alfred too was in his room. But instead of preparing for the coming of their quests he was shooting arrows at a badly drawn picture of Arthur pinned to his wall. His mother came into the room, looking disapprovingly at her son.

_"He soon will be arriving. Is that the respect you're showing?"_

_"If you make me kiss his hand again, I swear I'm gonna be sick."_

* * *

As Arthur walked off the ramp of the boat in the harbor of Elizaveta's kingdom, a tomato smacked him right in the face, the fruit's juices dripping down his chin. When he looked for the source he found Alfred standing next to a brunette boy with a strange curl sticking out of his hair. He glared down at them seeing a slingshot in the boy's hand, the two of them trying to contain their laughter.

Their parents didn't notice this exchange, making their way to the carriage to head to the castle.

_"One day Prince Alfred will be his intended."_

_"Splendid~"_

Arthur was still cross about the tomato to his face as a welcome gift, but he did however make an effort to spend time with the other prince. But him and his new friend did everything they could to avoid him when he visited.

Alfred and his companion Prince Lovino were currently running away from the younger prince. Prince Lovino's brother Feliciano was the heir to their kingdom, so he himself was able to spend plenty of time with his new best friend. The two of them were sliding down the staircase banister with Arthur following close behind.

_"We've tried all summer but we just can't lose him!"_

_"Hey, fellas, wait up!"_

_"Quick! Put on some speed."_

The two of them took off running as soon as they reached the bottom of the staircase. Arthur tried to follow but wipped out at the end of the banister.

_"When picking teams-"_

_"-or friends-"_

_"-I'd never choose him."_

Once he recovered from his fall, the messy haired blonde followed his so called playmates outside to a treehouse on the castle grounds. He would've climbed up the ladder but right before he would grab it, Lovino pulled the rope ladder up. The Italian prince then unfolded a piece of paper that read No caterpillars allowed referring to Arthur's bushes for eyebrows.

_"You'd think he'd take a hint and learn to read,"_ Lovino smirks down at the angry Brit.

He sassily put his hands on his hips. _"This really isn't fair!"_

_"We really couldn't care."_

_"Boys it's all or none!"_ When the little prince kicked at a beam supporting the treehouse, he quickly backed away as it came crashing down.

That summer all three of the young boys were left covered with injuries. Elizaveta smiled and waved goodbye to Arthur and his father at the end of the season, but as soon as they were out of sight she turned around and scolded the two she was left with.

_"This is not my idea.."_

_"This isn't my idea.."_

_"..of fun."_

* * *

As time went by, the townspeople and servants watching the betrothed princes grow up from afar sang to themselves.

_"Long before they met Alfred and Arthur were destined to be wedded. However anyone could see the only point on which they didn't disagree was that the very thought of summertime was dreaded."_

The now teenage Arthur had to be dragged from the carriage into the castle, all but outright refusing to see his fiance.

Eventually he broke down and tried to have a good time.

_"He tries to talk me into playing dress-up,"_ Alfred complained to Lovino, looking through his new glasses at Arthur sitting on the throne wearing a crown and trying to order him around like he owns a place.

_"He's always flirting with the castle guards.."_

Lovino smirked and elbowed his host in the side, noticing the light blush on his cheeks. _"I think you really sorta like him, fess up."_

_"I'd like him better if he'd lose at cards."_

Arthur and Alfred sat together playing cards, Lovino making hand gestures from behind Arthur trying to tell his best friend what he had. But it was no use.

Alfred laid his cards down, feeling confident that he had finally beat the other. _"Four sevens and a ten."_

_"I think I've won again,"_ the Brit said with a smile, laying his cards down to reveal a winning hand.

_"Every time he's won!"_

Arthur smirked and sang cheerily, _"This is my idea.."_

_"This isn't my idea.."_

_"..of fun!"_

It was true, Arthur was starting to enjoy the time he spent with Alfred. Not because he liked his company, of course not. Though he did notice his fiance being nicer to him. At least a little. He didn't try to run away from him anymore and, though reluctantly, he would play games with him even though he always lost when it was something competitive. But even though he was starting to like being around him, he still wanted revenge.

While the royal couple rode through the streets in a carriage, Arthur waving and smiling to citizens and Alfred making faces and putting bunny ear fingers behind the other's head (by the time Arthur looked back at him he had looked away whistling innocently), people working in the fields sang hopefully.

_"We need a royal wedding. I'd love to be invited!"_

_"At least we'll get a holiday to rest our plows and axes."_

At the end of the summer as Arthur and his father were boarding the ship to take them home, the Brit decided it was time to take his long awaited revenge.

_"Someday these two will marry. Two lands will be united."_

_"And with some luck their marriage may result in lower taxes."_

When no one was looking at him, he fired a tomato at Alfred and his Italian friend. The red fruit hit a barrel the two were leaning on, bits of the food hitting them both. Acting as innocent as possible he tossed the slingshot into the ocean, trying his best to contain the smirk wanting to grace him.

* * *

A few more years later, King Scott wrote a letter to his Hungarian friend. _What if Arthur doesn't go for the merger?_

Elizaveta only responded with a _Urge him!_

But before either of them could get a word in to their children, the doors were closed in their faces. Leaning back against their bedroom doors the two now adult princes sang unknowingly simultaneously.

_"For as long as I remember we've been told we'd someday wed. Every June until September.."_

Alfred was being pushed through the halls towards the ballroom by his mother. _'All their pushing and annoying hints.'_

Arthur had to be carried inside by his father to get him out of the carriage, always putting up a fight. _'I've got bruises with their fingerprints.'_

Before Alfred could back out, the door was closed behind him. He turned his back to the other side of the room with his arms crossed. _'I can do much better I am sure..'_

Arthur suffered the same fate, the door being closed before he could escape. _'He's so immature..'_

Hearing the other enter the room, the blue-eyed prince turned around to greet him like any other summer they had gotten together. But when Arthur turned to him as well, it was not what he expected. Had Arthur always been so...beautiful?

The British blonde couldn't help but blush when he saw the other. It was strange, they had known each other almost their whole lives but this was different. He had never noticed before just how handsome Alfred was. And he had never seen Alfred look at him the way he was now.

_'I see him smiling and my knees start buckling..I see inside him and my doubts are gone..'_

_'He started out as such an ugly duckling, and somehow suddenly became a swan.'_

They met in the middle of the room, bowing to each other.

_"So happy to be here."_

_"Till now I never knew.."_

_"..it is you I've been dreaming of."_

_"This is my idea.."_

_"This is my idea.."_

Watching from the sidelines, Elizaveta and Scott grinned and joined in on the singing.

_"What a good idea, such a charming and romantic notion!"_

Coming in behind them were servants and cooks and musicians, quickly preparing to celebrate and singing along.

_"This is my idea, such a good idea, what a good idea, such a powerful and magic potion. This is exactly my idea of love."_

Even with all the commotion around them, the couple hardly noticed, too absorbed in each other and the music now playing in the background. Never looking away from each other's eyes they slowly danced together across the ballroom in their own little world.

_'This is my idea...'_

_'This is my idea...'_

_'This is my idea..of..Love.'_

Alfred leaned down to the shorter male, slowly closing their eyes, and they shared their first kiss.

* * *

**Well there's the first chapter.**

**Yes I made Scotland Arthur's father, which if you've seen the movie you know what that means. I love Scotland as much as the next person, but I felt that this way his death would hit home more. And I noticed that in the movie they didn't say much about Bromley and who he was. We know he's Derek's best friend but we know nothing else about him, so I made Lovino a prince in this.**

**Please review, tell me if it's worth continuing, if I'm any good.**


	2. Rejection

**Hello everyone, thank you so much for the support!**

**In case it was confusing or if you didn't read the summary, Arthur is the one who will be turned into a swan.**

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Chapter 2

When they pulled apart Alfred stared into his love's eyes a moment longer before turning to the crowd around them with his thousand watt smile.

"Arrange the marriage!"

The servants and royals cheered with happiness, Roderich the conductor starting up the band to play cheery music.

But Arthur didn't feel right. "Wait.." He spoke at a normal volume but even through the cheering and music, he was heard by everyone in the room. Everyone turned their attention to the younger prince, the room quieting down quickly.

This was moving too fast. The Brit was willing to admit that he did like Alfred more than he did when he was younger. And that maybe this was developing into something deeper. But was he sure he was ready to marry him? Absolutely not.

Alfred looked at the other confused as to what could possibly be wrong after such a moment. "What? You're all I've ever wanted..you're beautiful."

"Thank you..but what else?"

"What else?"

"Are looks all that matter to you?" Arthur crossed his arms and raised an eyebrow, waiting for the other to answer.

"Um.." The taller of the two looked over to his mother for help.

She tried to urge him on, wanting to hear his answer as much as everyone else. "Alfred..what else?"

He looked around more for someone to help him, anyone, but when no one did he panicked and blurted out something he would later regret.

"What else..is there?"

Roderich made a rejected buzzing noise and pointed his thumb down.

Arthur looked down, sad and disappointed in his answer.

Elizaveta tried to contain her tears and Scott sighed, knowing this was the end.

With their plan ending in failure, Scott and Arthur prepared to leave, mounting their horses. Elizaveta stood by to see them off, trying to hold in her tears, with Alfred by her side. The rejected prince kept his eyes to the ground, not wanting to see what kind of expression Arthur wore.

As Scott lit a cigar, he turned to the queen struggling with her emotions. "Well..no one can say we didn't try. Arthur, say goodbye," he said, hoping his son would maybe change his mind. Maybe he would see how upset Alfred was, or maybe he would give some sort of farewell message that held something for the future.

Arthur held his head high, not looking at the prince he spoke to. "Goodbye."

"Goodbye?" The king couldn't believe it. That's it? No 'it was nice spending these summers with you' or 'it's a shame it had to end like this' or 'I was stupid and I change my mind, marry me right now'?

Elizaveta elbowed her son, silently telling him to say something, too.

"Mother.."

"Alfred." She knew that if she had to say anymore, the dam would break. It was almost surreal, having to push him to speak to the guest prince, just like when they were children.

He forced himself to look up from the ground at his now ex fiance, barely managing to get his next words out. "Goodbye, Prince Arthur.."

Once they were gone, Elizaveta let her emotions run wild. She let the tears loose and stormed back into the castle. "All these years of planning...wasted!"

One might think Arthur was being heartless about the situation. He hardly said a word to his ex fiance, didn't even look at him. It wasn't that he didn't want to, but that he couldn't. Arthur had always been good at containing his emotions, hiding behind a mask, but at this moment he felt that mask cracking.

* * *

The weather quickly turned for the worse, the clouds dark and thunder crashing every now and then. Alfred had moved inside after his mother. He was now playing a game of chess with Lovino, though hardly paying attention when he cheated and stole a pawn, while listening to Roderich's ranting on how badly he messed up.

"What else is there? He says..'Are looks all that matter' and you say..'What else is there'?!"

Roderich was his councilor, as well as his mother's, and was almost like a father to the prince since his real father had died when he was young. He was his tutor, his trainer, his adviser, and a very talented musician and dancer to boot. He's pretty great.

"I know, it was dumb, I messed up..How unheroic."

"You should write a book. _How to Offend People in Five Syllables or Less._"

"Your turn, Al," Lovino caught the other's attention long enough for him to make his move, then turning his back on the game board again.

"I just didn't know what else to say. I was pressured! Everyone was staring at me waiting for me to answer, and you know I'm not good with words.."

"Obviously."

Behind the prince, his sneaky friend stole another one of his pieces. "Look, Al, you've lost your queen~"

"That's twice in one day! Come on, give me a break."

Roderich tapped his index finger to the blonde's head. "Think about it, there must be something you like about him other than his appearance."

"Of course there is! I grew up around him, Roderich, surely there's something else. Like..." He made some hand gestures trying to think and find the words he needed. "He's...I mean, he's got..and then.."

His two companions in the room simply stared at him with looks on their faces that said 'That's all you've got?'.

"I-I don't know how to say it! Hm..I'll just have to prove it to him. I'll prove my love!" He said it like it was going to be the easiest thing in the world. Boy did he have another thing coming.

Alfred only glanced back at the chessboard before making his final move. "Checkmate!"

Lovino rubbed his eyes and blinked a couple times to see if he saw that right. Even when he cheated he still lost. He must really suck at this game.

* * *

Arthur and Scott rode in a carriage, on their way to the harbor to get on a boat home. Scott still didn't understand exactly what went wrong. Yes, Alfred had said a stupid thing, everyone knew that. But he wanted to hear his son tell him exactly why he rejected his betrothed. He's known him almost his whole life, he should know better than to expect something deep in that situation.

"What did you want him to say? You know he's not the type to say something mushy."

"I just wanted some kind of confirmation that he loved me..for more than my appearance. What kind of marriage can last without anything more? I want love, not a political partnership."

"You mean to tell me that after all these years you feel nothing for him?"

"No, it's not that..I mean, I don't know. I don't know if I can say I love him romantically. And it's obvious he can't say it either..Or maybe I shouldn't have put him on the spot like that.."

Before Scott could respond, the carriage stopped. He looked to the door confused. They shouldn't be at the docks yet, so why would they have stopped? The redheaded king opened the door and stepped out to see what was going on.

He felt dread sweep over him when he saw the reason they had stopped. Standing a ways ahead of the carriage in the middle of the dirt road was a man. A tall man with very light, almost white, blonde hair wearing black robes and a long black scarf around his neck. But what really made him worry was the familiar violet eyes staring back at him.

When Arthur tried to see what his father was looking at, Scott held his arm out to stop him.

"Stay inside, Arthur.." He sounded slightly defensive, trying to stay calm and figure out what to do. It had been years since he had seen the banished man, just after Arthur was born. He didn't know what to expect, not even sure if he was a threat. But even when thinking the worst, nothing could have prepared him for what happened next.

* * *

**I know this chapter was much shorter than the first, but I felt this was a good place to stop. A good cliffhanger is always nice and agonizing. But with how fast I update, I'm sure you won't be too hurt for too long.**

**If anyone is interested, my Tumblr is Hetalian-Haruka-Jaeger.**

**I'll see you all again with a chapter 3 soon!**


	3. The Lake Prison

**Here's chapter 3! I really struggled with the battle scene at the beginning, I'm no good at fight scenes. But I tried my best so I hope you like it!**

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Chapter 3

It had been almost twenty years since King Scott had last seen Ivan, twenty years since he banished him. He still remembered his warning. _"Someday I'll get my power back and when I do, everything you own, everything you love...will be mine." _And it looked like that day was today.

It all happened so fast. With a spark of magic Ivan had transformed himself into a gigantic winged beast with silvery white fur and sharp claws. Scott and his guards were so in shock that they didn't have time to react properly before the creature came at them.

The horses began to panic. The few guards with the royals drawing their swords preparing for battle, amung them an albino man with white hair and narrowed red eyes.

Arthur tried again to get out of the coach and see what the commotion was but his father closed the door on him, trying to keep him safe.

"Father! Let me out! What's happening?!" He banged on the door, starting to panic when he heard a fight happening. He heard his father shout to one of the guards, "Gilbert, go get help!"

Gilbert, the albino guard, hesitated to leave his king in distress. But he knew that if any of them stood a chance he would need to follow the king's orders and get reinforcements. So he rode off on his horse back towards the castle they came from, trying to ignore the pain in his leg.

The last thing Arthur remembered was the loud roar of an unknown creature that sent chills down his spine. Then everything went black.

* * *

By the time Gilbert made it to the castle, it had begun raining. He dismounted his horse, wincing at the sudden weight on his injured leg, and limped his way to the door. When the door slammed open, the attention of the three men in the room were all on him.

Alfred recognized him almost immediately, his features unmistakable. He rushed over to him, catching him just as he was falling to his knees, Roderich and Lovino not far behind him. "It's King Scott's captain!" The blonde helped Gilbert to lay down, getting the weight off of his bleeding leg.

"We were attacked on the way to the docks..by some great animal!"

"...Arthur!" Before anyone could stop him Alfred ran out into the rain.

"Alfred, wait!" Roderich pleaded for him to come back, knowing the prince was being rash and could be rushing into something dangerous.

Alfred hopped onto his own horse and raced off down the path Gilbert came from. He tried to shield his face from the rain, to keep his glasses dry enough to see through them. When he finally made it to the scene, he didn't like what he saw at all.

He was too late. Whatever beast that had attacked them was long gone, the guards had been killed, and the coach had been knocked on it's side with claw marks on it.

The first thing he did when he jumped off his horse was check inside the carriage. But it was empty.

"Arthur?!" He looked around some, checking to make sure his love wasn't laying dead somewhere. He stopped when he saw something shiny on the ground in a puddle of rain water. He kneeled down and picked it up. It was the gold locket he gave Arthur as a birthday present the first time they met.

Alfred was surprised to find out that Arthur even still had the necklace. After all those years of them disliking each other he thought that he had gotten rid of it. Or maybe he didn't even know it was from Alfred, he was a baby when he got it after all.

He was pulled from his thoughts when he heard a groaning sound coming from a few feet away. When he looked up from the necklace in his hand he saw King Scott on the ground holding his stomach. Alfred hurried over to him, noticing the blood on his hand and torso now that he was closer.

"King Scott..who did this?"

"It..came so quickly..A great animal.."

"Where is Arthur?"

"Alfred, you have to listen to me...It's not..what it seems..It's not what it seems..."

"What's not? Where is Arthur?!"

"Arthur...is...gone..."

Breathing his last breath his eyes slipped closed as he greeted death, one last tear falling for his lost son.

He couldn't believe it. He wouldn't. Arthur was gone..? Gone where? He didn't mean...he couldn't mean he was..dead?

Looking up at the sky, knowing no one was around to see him break down, he screamed into the night, letting the tears flow.

"ARTHUR!"

* * *

Far off past the forest stood a grand castle by a lake. The castle was large, but it was worn down from years of neglect. It was in desperate need of repair and a good paint job. This was Swan Lake.

And ironically enough, a swan sat on the surface of the water at this moment. There was a brunette man of average height standing by the edge of the lake, throwing bread into the water for the bird. But the creature completely ignored it, instead turning away from the two men angrily.

Ivan stood by his servant, Toris, trying to get the swan to cooperate. "Now now, don't be too sad, Arthur. My spell doesn't even last the whole day. As soon as the moon comes up.." As he said this he gestured to the moon rising higher in the sky. The swan, now known to be Arthur, looked up at the moon. He then looked down at the moon's reflection in the water. As soon as the moonlight touched him, the water started to glow around him.

Unknown to all was a pair of animals watching them, a turtle and a frog. They watched in silent shock as the water around the swan swirled up and formed a whirlpool of light. Once the water receded, in the swan's place stood Prince Arthur.

"You see? That's how it works, every night. You have to be on the lake of course, and when the moonlight touches your wings.."

Arthur walked back to land, turning away from his captor.

"Now Arthur, look. This sort of thing doesn't give me any pleasure. Well..maybe a little. But what I really want is...your father's kingdom."

"Take it then," he turned back to the enchanter. "You have enough power."

"Nah, tried that already. You see, I've learned that once you steal something, you'll spend your whole life fighting to keep it. But.." With a wave of his hands and a spark of magic a scene was created around them. They were standing in the great hall of Arthur's castle, both of them wearing wedding attire and crowns. "..if I marry the only heir to the throne, we'll rule your father's kingdom together legally. As king and..queen."

"Never!" Arthur broke away from the illusion, everything fading back to normal. The captive prince started to run, making his way back to the forest. Ivan only chuckled and called after him.

"Where do you think you're going? As soon as the moon leaves the lake, you'll turn back into a swan. No matter where you are."

Now that made Arthur stop. Reality crashed down on him with that information. Running wouldn't get him anywhere. Unless he could break this spell he was under, he could never leave the lake if he wanted to be human again. He was trapped.

* * *

**Hope you enjoyed this chapter! Next chapter will have Practice, Practice, Practice which I know some of you have been looking forward to. I'm pretty excited about it myself, I think it'll be fun to write.**

**Reviews would be much appreciated! I'll see you all again soon with chapter 4!**


	4. Hope

**Well here it is, chapter 4! I know some of you have been waiting for the Practice, Practice, Practice song, so here you go, along with the Far Longer Than Forever song. I hope you enjoy it.**

**I noticed that my chapters were getting shorter and shorter so this one is a bit longer, actually the longest one so far.**

**Slight language warning for Lovino!  
**

**To the story!**

* * *

Chapter 4

It had been a few months since Arthur went missing. Everyone had given up hope that he was still alive. Except for Alfred. He never stopped searching for him. Every day he would train with Roderich and Lovino, practicing his archery and sword fighting. And every minute he wasn't training he spent either researching this 'great animal' in his castle's library or searching the forests and towns for Arthur.

At this moment he and Roderich were pouring colored powder into two quivers, orange into Alfred's and blue into Lovino's. They were preparing for target practice, Lovino tying a blue blindfold over his eyes.

"The musicians are not happy."

"I know Roderich, but I need to practice," Alfred said as he tied an orange blindfold over his own eyes.

"Oh no complaints here," Roderich not so secretly got some pleasure out of the thought of his musicians dressed up as animals for target practice. He held the bucket of orange powder up, patting the bottom of it to see if he got it all out. "I think it's going to be loads of-" With one hard smack, the powder blew into his face. "...fun."

"The great animal isn't going to give up Arthur without a fight."

Roderich took out a handkerchief, wiping his face free of orange dust. "You still think he's alive?"

"When I find the great animal, I'll find Arthur."

"Alfred..you've looked everywhere. He's not coming back. The whole kingdom knows this."

"The whole kingdom is wrong," the prince pointed to where he thought Roderich might be. "Arthur is alive and I'm going to find him. Ready, Lovino?"

Lovino peeked out from behind his blindfold, letting it fall back over his eyes when Roderich smacked his hand.

"No peeking. Animals assemble!"

And out came the group of musicians dressed as different animals. Now was this necesary? Dressing as animals? Couldn't Alfred practice on them without the costumes? Of course. But this was way more fun.

One of the dressed up musicians, a small Asian man with a long ponytail, spoke up to their conductor. "Roderich, this is ridiculous, we are musicians!"

"The servants had the day off, we had to use someone."

"But I am an artist! Not a boar!"

"Could've fooled me.." Roderich muttered quietly to himself.

Alfred just laughed. "Come on guys, they're harmless!" To prove his point he hit the bottom of his shoe with an arrow, a puff of orange smoke being the only result.

_"We are a band and not a band of animals. This masquerade.."_

_"Is more than I can bear," _said a blonde man with sideburns and glasses, Eduard.

_"There goes my reputation. It's awful, this humiliation."_

Another much smaller blonde boy getting into his duck costume tripped getting into his shoes. When he tripped he fell into his fellow band mates knocking them all over. At the bottom of the pile was a brunette man in a lion suit, yawning.

_"And I've the lion's share.."_

Roderich stood by the two princes ready for practice, holding a string attached to their blindfolds. "Down on all fours please, and growl ferociously!"

But the 'animals' just stood there defiantly with their arms crossed.

"Liven it up a bit! I want you to strike fear into my heart!"

The only one to roar was the young boy with the bunny ears. He had ruffled red hair and blue eyes, a scar painted onto the right side of his face and across his nose. It wasn't real of course, he just thought it made him look cooler.

Roderich jumped back in fear and surprise at such a big sound coming from such a small boy.

"Not you, Erland, you're a rabbit for heaven's sake!"

"Archers, ready...set...GO!" He pulled the string, pulling the blindfolds off the two princes. Lovino took a minute to regain himself, feeling dizzy being suddenly able to see. Alfred however immediately began shooting at any animal he could, one after another hitting one and marking them with an orange spot. Once Lovino managed to get his bow from around his neck he set his sights on the rabbit, it being worth the most points. But every time he tried to shoot him he would either miss or the bunny would hit it back at him.

Behind a makeshift wall were about four of the animals, three of them looking over the edge to see if it was safe to come out. When they saw an orange arrow coming for them they yelled "Duck!" and ducked down behind their barrier. However the duck, Ravis, thought they were calling him and poked his head above the wall. "What?" This resulted in him getting hit in the beak.

Overseeing the training on a balcony of the palace was Queen Elizaveta having tea with other nobles.

_"Day after day all the prince ever does is practice, practice, practice."_

Elizaveta sang after the nobles. _"Thinking of him and the way that it was."_

_"Practice, practice, practice."_

Just as the queen was about to take a sip of tea an arrow came flying past shattering her cup. Soon following was Ravis running on the terrace to escape more arrows.

_"He's not happy 'til he has attacked us!"_

Alfred continued to shoot as many animals as he could as fast as possible, the nobles now watching the show.

Roderich called out, holding an hourglass. "Twelve seconds!"

_"Day after day all the prince ever does is practice, practice, practice. Thinking of him and the way that it was. Practice, practice, practice."_

"Five seconds!"

_"If we refused then he would have sacked us. So we face a life of target.."_

_"Practice, practice, practice!"_

At the last second Alfred shot an arrow at Erland the rabbit just as he jumped into a bush.

"Time! Animals, assemble for counting." Roderich unrolled a piece of parchment to take down the score as his orchestra lined up, a couple of them limping and almost all of them covered in orange spots. He first approached Ravis the duck as he collapsed to the ground. "Well, you got plenty of 5 pointers."

Alfred laughed quiltily. "Eheheheh...Sorry, Ravis, how about you take the day off."

"Moose are worth 2 points, 16 shots, that's 32. Ten 7 pointers, fourteen 3 pointers, that all comes out to 298 points. Well done, Alfred!"

While Roderich counted, Lovino was leaned up against a tree next to the rabbit. Every now and then he hit the small boy with his blue arrow. Always the cheater, aren't ya Lovi? Let's see if you'll win this time.

"Now Lovino, for you we have..zero. You didn't shoot a single one of them." The Italian prince simply shrugged, smirking knowingly.

"And now for the elusive 100-point white rabbit." Needless to say Roderich was shocked to see three blue spots on the child.

"I believe that's 300, Roderich~"

"Good shooting, Lovino," Alfred let him have his moment for now.

"Well go on, write it down, 300 to 298~"

"Ah actually," the blonde interupted. "I believe you missed a spot." He motioned for Erland to turn around, revealing an orange spot just under his tail. Again, even when he cheats, Lovino still loses.

"Sigh..You're a great marksman, Alfred. One of the best. But it takes more than good aim, you need courage. Which I have a lot of."

Roderich looked up from his paper annoyed at Lovino's bragging. "If you're so brave, how about a game of Catch and Fire?"

Lovino could talk big all day. But when it came down to it, he was a big coward. "C-C-Catch and Fire? Me?"

"Well of course, you're the only one with enough c-c-courage after all."

Catch and Fire is a training excersize Roderich invented himself. Lovino will have to fire an arrow at Alfred's back and hope that he turns around in time to catch it. Once Alfred catches it, he has to fire it back at Lovino, hitting an apple that will be tied to the top of his head. So you can imagine a few things that can go wrong.

* * *

Roderich was currently tying the apple on Lovino's head with a string while Alfred waited with his back turned to them.

"Chigi! Too tight, asswhipe!"

"Oops, so sorry~" He wasn't sorry at all.

"Are you guys ready?"

"He's ready! Now Lovino, remember to aim for the heart. Right between the shoulders."

"Yeah yeah I got it.."

The Italian took aim, his hands and arms shaking. He was about to shoot at his best friend, and a prince at that. And with his nerves and bad aim there is a lot that could go wrong.

Alfred readied himself, preparing to spin around and catch the arrow. He was feeling confident, but still a little nervous. But he trusted his friend and that was part of the exercise. "Come on Lovino, hold it steady.."

After some mental arguing with himself Lovino lets his arrow fly. "Shit!"

Alfred could hear the arrow cutting through the air, flying towards him. When he felt the time was right he spun around and caught the arrow, quickly aiming it back and shooting the apple dead center. Roderich caught the half of the apple that flew at him and Lovino dropped down to his knees in relief that neither of them got shot.

"52 out of 52! Well done, Alfred! Excellent show of courage, Lovino. Just think, one inch lower and that arrow would have.." Roderich let the thought hang, grinning when Lovino fainted.

Ignoring their antics, Alfred looked off into the sunset thinking of his missing love again.

Having Arthur taken away from him changed his whole outlook. It wasn't his beauty he missed. It was the competitions to see who could shoot more bullseyes, Arthur was a fantastic archer. It was the games they would play together, Arthur always beat him but he loved to play anyway. He missed arguing with Arthur, he missed being forced to try his awful cooking, and he missed seeing those rare smiles. He shouldn't have let him leave that day. It was true that you don't know what you have until it's gone.

"Don't lose hope Arthur...Wherever you are, I'll find you."

* * *

"You've had some dumb ideas before, Francis, but this one takes the cake.

"Quiet, I am trying to concentrate."

Next to the moat of Swan Lake was Francis the frog and Antonio the turtle. Francis was currently connecting cattail reeds to make one long pole.

Francis was once the lord of Swan Lake before Ivan came along all those years ago and Antonio was sort of his assistant, like Roderich is Elizaveta and Alfred's councilor. They could only become human again once Ivan was dead. But Francis had another method in mind.

"You laugh now but when my plan succeeds, he will kiss me and I will-"

"And you'll turn back into a lord, I know I know, you've told me. Why don't you just give him these flowers?" The turtle gestures to some purple water arum flowers next to him.

"How clueless you are in the art of love. I don't want these flowers, I must have those." Francis points to a group of the exact same flowers across the moat. Across the gater filled moat. "Once he learns I have risked my life for them, the kissing will not stop."

"And you'll change back into a human."

"Precisely."

"Mind if I point out a problem?"

"I don't take advice from peasants."

"Suit yourself."

Francis jumped into a nearby tree with his cattail pole ready to pole vault over the water to the other side, the gaters preparing for dinner. The frog repeated a mantra to himself, "Flowers, kiss, concentration," before sticking his pole into the ground, about to bounce over.

"Just a thought..How are you going to get back?"

Francis realized his mistake too late and was flung to the water, never letting go of the cattails. He sprang back and forth for a while, Antonio trying to catch him but never being in the right spot.

"Move up! Move up! No, not that close!" At some point the plant stopped moving but he continued to flail around and panic. "Grab me grab me! Hold my arm, hold my leg! Hold it hold it hold it.." He slowly came to realize that he was no longer in danger, the blonde bushy-eyed prince holding the reed down. The green animal finally let go and landed on the ground.

"Oh merci Arthur, merci. May I have that?" As soon as he had the reed pole in hand he released it, smacking one of the alligators right in the face. "Take that you savages!" He was feeling pretty big until the pole sprang back and squished him into the dirt.

Arthur tried not to laugh at his misfortune. "Are you ok? Francis?"

"Oui oui Arthur, yes, I'm alright," said the frog as he peeled himself off the ground.

The prince had actually been there for a few minutes but he wanted to enjoy the show a bit before stepping in. It's not that he liked seeing Francis get hurt, he just..alright he did get a little enjoyment out of it, it was hard to find entertainment around here. "What exactly were you trying to do?"

"I wanted to get those flowers for you."

"You're being sneaky again aren't you?" Arthur was no fool and this wasn't the first time the frog tried something romantic with him.

"What's sneaky? You deserve a nice bouquet."

"And I suppose you deserve a kiss."

"Well if you insist," he puckered up at the prince.

"Not me, you git! You know I'm under a spell."

"But my kiss will break the spell!"

"I can only kiss the one I love, who knows what would happen if it was with anyone else. And then they-"

"Must make a vow of everlasting love, I know."

"And prove it to the world."

"What do you think I was just doing with the flowers and the alligators going 'chomp chomp'?!"

"Sigh...Antonio, can't you make him understand? You know him better than I do."

"I am only a turtle, mi amigo. Si, I was once human, but according to a certain someone around here I am clueless in the ways of love."

Arthur couldn't exactly say that he knew more about love than either of them. They're both much older than him and before they were put under their own spells they probably had been in relationships. Arthur's love was very new. Being separated from Alfred hadn't done this before. He never felt this way when summer would end and they parted ways. Then again he knew he would just see him again the following summer. But now the situation was different. There was no guarantee that they would ever see each other again. The last time he left Alfred's kingdom he had been upset with him over this answer of 'what else is there'. But being trapped at Swan Lake under a spell all this time gives a person a lot of time to think. Thinking that he might never see Alfred again made him realize how much he missed him and how much he wanted to see him.

He remembered before he was kidnapped that Gilbert, his father's captain of the guards, had gone back to get help. Did that mean that they were looking for him? Was Alfred coming to rescue him? It was like a fairytail, waiting for his prince to come and save him from evil. Or had they given up, thinking he was dead? But Arthur knew Alfred better than that. He knew he wasn't the type to give up so easily.

_"If I could break this spell, I'd run to him today,"_ sang Arthur. _"And somehow I know he's on his way to me. Alfred, you and I were meant to be."_

The prince got up from his spot next to the animals, walking down a set of stone steps closer to the lake.

_"Far longer than forever..I'll hold you in my heart. It's almost like you're here with me although we're far apart."_

In Alfred's kingdom on the palace grounds, the prince went for a walk under the stars, unknowingly singing the same words. _"Far longer than forever. As constant as a star. I close my eyes and I am where you are." _He held Arthur's gold necklace in his hand, clutching it tightly wishing he could be by his side right now.

_"Sure as the dawn brings the sunrise, we've an unshakable bond."_

_"Destined to last for a lifetime and beyond. Far longer than forever."_

_"Far longer than forever."_

_"I swear that I'll be true."_

_"I swear that I'll be true."_

_"I've made an everlasting vow to find a way to you," _they sang simultaneously.

_"Far longer than forever. Like no love ever known. And with your love I'll never be alone."_

_"Far longer than forever.."_

_"Much stronger than forever.."_

_"And with your love I'll never be alone..."_ Arthur finished.

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**There you go! I hope you enjoyed this chapter.**

**If you didn't know who the animals in the band were, here are the characters:**

**the bear - Estonia (Eduard)**

**the lion - Greece**

**the duck - Latvia (Ravis)**

**the boar - China (Yao)**

**the rabbit - Ladonia (Erland)**

**I realize I didn't mention Greece's name in the scene so unless you understood the yawning cuz he sleeps all the time I realize it would be harder to guess who he was since I mentioned names for everyone else.**

**Also I've been thinking about doing a PruCan 50 First Dates fic, if you'd be interested in that let me know!**

**Review please! See you next time!**


	5. An Old Friend

**And so we're back to the short chapters. Sorry I'm so inconsistent with chapter length. But you guys are lucky I finished this chapter today with how shitty I've been feeling.**

**Also I realized I hadn't been doing a disclaimer and I probably should be.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Hetalia or The Swan Princess. If I did own Hetalia it would be much gayer. (not that that's very possible)**

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Chapter 5

Flying above Swan Lake was a black eagle, struggling to stay in the air. The poor creature couldn't keep going any farther and quite ungracefully fell out of the sky. Antonio pointed up at the freefalling bird.

"What is that?"

Arthur jumped back in surprise when the eagle landed on the ground in front of him.

"Bloody hell!"

Antonio and Francis came over to see what fell, the latter poking the unconscious animal with a stick.

The Spanish turtle asked, "Is it dead?"

"Am I really that bad of a singer? I'm killing birds now?"

"Nonsense mon cygne, you are a lovely singer," the French frog tried to reassure him.

"I don't think el pájaro is dead," Antonio rolled the bird onto it's back, revealing an arrow in its left wing.

"Oh. It was just an arrow. So it wasn't my singing that injured it. Though it is strange.."

"What is?"

"This is a black eagle, they usually aren't found around here. I think they're from parts of Asia. What would it be doing here?"

"Well maybe if it lives, we'll ask."

"Alright then, you two hold it down and I'll take the arrow out."

Antonio climbed over the bird and laid across its body, the poor thing letting out a pained sound at the added weight, and Francis held its head down. Arthur snapped the arrow in half then slipped it out of the wing, the bird yelping briefly. The prince ripped a piece of his shirt to use as a bandage and wrapped it around the wing.

With that done Antonio got off of the eagle and Francis peeled its eyes open, waving to him.

"Bonjour, this is your wake up call!"

Suddenly the creature jumped up into a fighting stance, somehow filled with more energy than he should have after getting shot. "It'll take more than that to keep the awesome me down!"

Arthur thought his voice was familiar, but come on this was a talking bird, he was pretty sure the familiarity was just in his head. "Calm down, none of us are going to fight you."

Saying the eagle was shocked when he saw the prince would be an understatement. His thin eyes got wide and his beak dropped down. "Prince Arthur?!"

The prince raised a bushy eyebrow, thinking that the voice was even more familiar now than before. "You know me? I have to say, I don't know many talking birds."

"It's me, Gilbert!"

Oh. Of course. How could he forget the 'awesome' Gilbert?

"How did you...? I mean..you're a bird."

"Yes, I noticed. When you went missing a few months ago, your father's guards and I started a search for you. They all gave up a while ago but the awesome me didn't! Then about a week ago I came across a man who looked like the one who attacked us all those months ago. I don't even know what happened, before I knew it I was a bird! I flew around for a while but then earlier today I got shot by a stupid hunter!"

"So Arthur, mon cygne, you know this bizarre bird?"

"Yes, he was my father's captain of the royal guard. Gilbert, this is Francis and Antonio. They were also human once, before Ivan put spells on them."

"Ivan?" Gilbert asked confused. "You mean the enchanter the king banished twenty years ago? Is that the man who attacked us?"

"Yes, he's the one. This place was once Francis' castle before Ivan took over."

"By the way Your Highness...I am sorry about your father. I should've stayed and protected him."

Gilbert knew he couldn't have done anything that night. He knew that if he had stayed, chances are he would have died as well. But the fact that he didn't stay and try was eating away at him. The king died and the prince was kidnapped and he wasn't able to stop it. So even when the other guards had given up, Gilbert still searched for Arthur, feeling guilty that he was taken on his watch.

"It's alright..If you had not have left, no one would have known what happened. Everyone would have been dead, who knows how long it would have taken for the bodies to be found. So I take it you made it back to Alfred's castle..?"

"Of course I did! Prince Alfred has been looking for you nonstop. Even with everyone else thinking you're dead, he refuses to believe it."

So it was true. Just as he had hoped, Alfred was looking for him. Arthur was filled with a happiness he hadn't felt in quite a while. Sitting around trapped at a lake for months with no one coming to rescue you can get real depressing real fast. So being reassured that his prince was indeed coming to get him made him the happiest person in the world right now.

But sadly it didn't last long.

"Your Highness, I must ask. Why have you been here this whole time? Why haven't you run away? I don't see him around, you need to get out of here!"

"I can't, I-"

With a sparkle of magic, a sunflower grew right in front of them. The sparks continued to fly all over the grounds of the lakeside. Sunflowers grew everywhere, the flowers in the trees were in bloom, the broken archway over the stone steps was repaired, and the illusion of daytime was created. Gilbert looked around confused but the others knew what it meant. Francis and Antonio pulled the black eagle into the bushes to hide just before Ivan came from the archway.

"Your knight in shining armor has arrived." Ivan smiled and bowed to 'his princess'. He actually does want to please his captive, but of course for the wrong reasons. "I am here to set you free~"

Arthur turned his back to the sorcerer and crossed his arms, already annoyed at yet another attempt to get him to marry him.

In the bushes Gilbert was trying to charge the evil man but was held back by his new friends. "Let me at him, I'll kill him with my awesome! He'll be so jealous of my awesomeness that he'll kill himself."

"Chill, mi amigo," Antonio tried to calm him.

"All it takes is one word," Ivan got down on one knee. "Will you marry me?"

The prince finally turned to look down at his kidnapper, a scowl on his face. "Every night you ask me the same question."

"Arthur please.."

"And every night I give you the same answer."

"Don't say it-" Ivan was getting angrier with every word Arthur spoke, his smile fading with every passing second.

"I'll die first." And Arthur was serious.

With his plan an obvious failure the illusion melted away. Ivan's dark aura was coming back the more he lost his patience. For months he has been asking Arthur for his hand, but still he was getting nowhere. Looks like he'll have to try another tactic.

"You're really starting to bug me."

"I should think you'd be used to it by now."

"That's it! Just keep pushing me, but one of these days I'm going to boil over!"

"Go ahead then! But I'll never give you my kingdom."

"Well..I was hoping you'd say you'd be mine. But it looks like you need another day to think about it," Ivan chuckled as he gestured to the moon going down.

When Arthur turned to look up at the moon he felt that sinking feeling in his stomach he felt every day. It was the end of his time as a human for the night. "No..." He made his way to the water. It wasn't a painful process but it did feel strange. It made his skin crawl in ways that was hard to describe. The water around Arthur's feet glowed a bright yellow, swirls of light and water surrounding him. When it receeded a swan sat in the lake in his place.

Gilbert rubbed his eyes to make sure he wasn't seeing things. Or maybe he was just going crazy? Then again, with everything that has happened, this isn't so weird. "Prince Arthur..?"

* * *

**Here are some translations if you don't know what the foreign stuff is.**

**French -**

**Bonjour: Hello**

**Mon cygne: My swan**

**Spanish -**

**Mi amigo: My friend**

**El pájaro: The bird**

**If any of them are wrong, I apologize, I use an iTranslate app. Review please!**


	6. Discovery

**Hey guys, it's been a while. Almost a week. This chapter is pretty short, I mainly just wanted to get something out there. I haven't been very motivated to work on this much lately and I had my girlfriend over for the weekend so I didn't work on it at all.**

**I'd be more motivated with more reviews! Just a thought~**

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Chapter 6

Back at the castle Queen Elizaveta was marveling at the beauty of the king's crown for her kingdom. Roderich stood by her side with a frown on his face.

"Beautiful...simply beautiful! Soon Alfred will be married, and the kingdom will have a king again!"

"I doubt it...Alfred still refuses to be king unless he finds Arthur. And you know how he is once he gets an idea in his head."

As if on queue Feliks the chamberlain came in with two servants behind him, both of them holding huge bags filled with envelopes.

"They're, like, all coming to the ball!" Feliks said excitedly before he was buried in RSVP letters. Yes, Elizaveta was throwing a ball and inviting every royal bachelor and bachelorette in the world. It totally wasn't a plan to get Alfred to finally marry someone and get over Arthur, no, it was just a fun little party.

"Ah wonderful! See Roderich, one of these is bound to change Alfred's mind!"

Ok maybe it was a plot to find Alfred love. But is it so wrong to want your son to find happiness? Like most everyone else in the kingdom Elizaveta believed that Arthur was dead and she wanted Alfred to move on. Though that's easier said than done it was worth a try, and it would be nice to have a party and lighten the mood. But Roderich wasn't as optimistic as his queen.

"Oh absolutely. Not."

But she just ignored her counselor and turned her attention back to the chamberlain.

"Do not. Lose. One," Elizaveta said as she poked Feliks' nose with an envelope with every word she spoke.

"Oh no way, Your Majesty, I would never." Oh but he would. He still remembered the last ball the queen threw. He had made a mistake with the guest list and at least a dozen guests went without an introduction. Never again would he make such a mistake.

"Speaking of Alfred, where is he? Oh nevermind, I know where he is. In the library working on the mystery of the Fat Animal."

"The Great Animal, Your Majesty," Roderich corrected.

"Fat, great, same difference. It's large and has fur."

Just as Elizaveta said, in the castle library was Prince Alfred looking through more books trying to find anything on a 'Great Animal' or something that is 'not what it seems'. But just like the many other times he searched, he wasn't having any luck. He could still hear King Scott's words in his head as if he had just heard them.

_"Alfred, you have to listen to me...It's not..what it seems..It's not what it seems..."_

Alfred just sighed frustrated as he closed the book he was currently looking through. "What did King Scott mean...?"

What could he have meant? What animal is not what it seems? If it looks like a bear, it must be a bear. If it looks like a tiger, it must be a tiger. King Scott's words make it seem like he'll see a lion and think it's a house cat. But that's just ridiculous, he's not that stupid and neither were Scott's men.

Walking down the isle he noticed a fairytale book out of place. Though most books were out of place now, Alfred had a tendency to not put things back where he found them. He doesn't know why he decided to pick it up and look through it. What could he have possibly found that could've helped him? Maybe he just wanted a temporary distraction. But what he found proved to be useful after all.

His face lit up in realization as he read the words on the page and stared at the pictures provided, a wide grin gracing his features.

"Of course! It's not what it seems! Now I'll find you, Arthur."

He tore two pages out of the book and stuffed them in his pocket. He raced down the isle and slid down the staircase banister to the first floor of the library. Just as he was headed to the doors, Queen Elizaveta burst through them with Feliks behind her, a smile on her face. They both had several letters in their hands.

"They're coming, Alfred!"

But Alfred wasn't listening, he was too excited about his recent discovery. He just picked her up and moved her out of the doorway. He was on his way out when she stopped him.

"Alfred? Where are you going?"

"To find the Great Animal!"

She just brushed it off, not knowing that he had actually finally found real evidence on the horrific beast that killed their friend Scott.

"Oh wonderful, just make sure you're here tomorrow night."

Alfred stopped walking again and looked back at his mother confused.

"Tomorrow night?"

And just like that Elizaveta's smile dropped.

"The ball."

"Oh. That. I...I'm sorry mother, I can't, I-"

Oh hell no, it's not going down like that. Elizaveta would not take that as an answer. First he had forgotten about the ball and now he was trying to get out of going. The entire party was to find him a queen and everything would be ruined if he did not attend. So she mustered up some tears and stuck out her lip in a wobbly pout.

Oh no. Alfred knew what this meant. His mother always did this when she wasn't getting her way. Of course nobody liked seeing their mother cry. Even if they knew she might be faking it, it wasn't a pleasant sight.

"Mother..no..don't do the lip thing...If I leave now..maybe I can be back in time."

Good enough. She threw the letters up in the air and whooped with joy. "Thank you, Alfred!" Feliks sighed annoyed, knowing he'd have to be the one to pick up the now scattered envelopes.

"But please mother, don't make this another one of your beauty pageants."

"Ohhh no no no no, it's just a few friends. And their children," she muttered the last part.

The second Alfred was gone she turned back to her chamberlain, startling him enough he dropped the letters he had begun gathering up.

"I want this to be...BIG. Every Prince and Princess must have their own introduction."

"But...you just said-"

"Forget what I said, listen to what I'm saying to you now. Send for the cooks, and tell the band to start rehearsing. I want four footmen for every carriage. Hmm..maybe five!"

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**Next is the No Fear song but there's a good chance that I'll just use some of the lyrics as dialog instead of them singing it. Anyways, I hope you liked this short chapter.**

**Review please!**


	7. An Escape Plan

**Hey, I'm back! Remember when I used to update, like, every other day? Yeah, me neither. So CONjuration wasn't as fun as I thought it would be, it was a first year con so there wasn't much there and my girlfriend and I were kinda ignored by her friends most of the time. But I did meet some cool people and got some loot from the dealer's room. Though I would've rather been home watching scary movies with my friends and stuffing my face with candy for Halloween, I feel like I totally missed it.**

**Also thank you so much for your support and telling me I'm not a crappy writer. It made me happy and gave me some confidence to keep writing this.**

**And I'm also in the process of coming up with a Moulin Rouge AU for Hetalia since all of the ones already on here are either incomplete or not the pairing I want, so look forward to that! I probably won't wait until I'm done with this one to start it. Though I'll probably wait until this one is done before starting the 50 First Dates AU.**

**Anyways, enough of my ranting, I've kept you all waiting long enough.**

**Enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 7

"So...let me get this straight. When the sun comes up every morning, you turn into a swan."

"That's right. And the following night, if I want to turn back into a human, I have to be on the lake. But why wouldn't I want to?"

The group of cursed animal friends were sitting by the lake, the sun currently high in the sky. Ivan had gone hours ago and hadn't been seen since. No one knew what he did during the day. Arthur had a theory that he slept during the day just to be able to torment him at night, like a vampire. Then again, Arthur didn't get much sleep these days either. He would usually stay awake at night to enjoy his time as a human while he could.

"All he needs is a little moonlight. Me, I have to be smooched by a lovely royal," Francis puckered his lips and kissed the air.

Antonio raised an eyebrow. "Why must it be a royal?"

"I don't know, I read it in a book once."

"Well there's no problem then! The awesome me has a great plan," Gilbert announced, puffing out his chest in pride.

"We'll just fly over to Prince Alfred's castle, lead him back here, you'll change back into a human, and live happily ever after!"

Arthur had to admit that was good in theory. But there was a problem. "How will I find him?"

Gilbert slumped down in exasperation, his cocky attitude leaving him for a second. "You don't know where he is?"

"I don't even know where I am! I was in too much shock and panic to pay attention to where we were going when I was kidnapped."

"I bet he knows," said Antonio, pointing to the castle of Swan Lake.

Francis just rolled his eyes at his friend and his seemingly dumb statement. "Of course, but how do you expect us to get the information we need? Just stroll on up and say 'Monsieur Ivan, we'd like to leave now. Do you have a map or something?' "

Arthur and Gilbert gasped, their eyes widening with realization. Really, how did they not think of this before? They shouted in unison, "A map!"

Francis shrieked and covered his mouth, knowing he just gave them an idea to do something dangerous and stupid.

"Let's do it!"

The two birds flew all around the castle, looking in each window searching for some kind of library or study, any room that might have a map. When Arthur spotted one, he flew back down to the lakeside where Francis and Antonio were waiting.

"It's hanging on the wall in the upper chamber."

"Arthur will keep a look out at the window, while we go inside and retrieve the map."

Francis crossed his arms over his chest. "We?"

"You're not going to help us?"

"Oui. This plan if applied will be simply suicidal! You'll be a sitting duck!"

Gilbert nudged the frog with a smirk. "No fear."

"Suppose that I do this. Who knows if we'll live through this!?"

Francis began walking away, determined to not die. Arthur wasn't going to take that.

"Our team is shy one green and handsome volunteer."

Now that got the frog's attention. His first compliment from the prince! And probably his last. He thought about reconsidering for a moment before saying, "No way! No chance!"

"No choice," Antonio stepped in front of him, stopping him from abandoning their mission.

Gilbert tried to encourage him, "No fear!"

They ended up having to drag Francis to the castle doors, but once they arrived the French frog gave up the struggle and continued on into dangerous territory.

The inside looked worse than the outside. The walls were in desperate need of a good paint job and the room could use a nice rug and better lighting. The only light came from the large window on the other side of the room, the old chandelier hanging from the ceiling without candles. The curtains were ripped and tattered, any furniture was overturned and out of the way, and there was dust and cobwebs everywhere. You'd think that over the past ten years the sorcerer lived there, he would have cleaned the place up a bit.

On their way in Antonio got stuck in the door when it tried to close on him.

"Note to self. If I ever need something done quickly, call a turtle," Francis complained as he helped pull through from the gap.

Up some wobbly stairs and down a cluttered hallway later, the Spanish turtle stopped again. "I think I pulled a muscle."

And that was it for Francis. "I'm gonna die! I knew it! I'm on a dangerous mission with a lame turtle! You're gonna get us all killed!" In his rage and with all his flailing about, he kicked a suit of armor which then proceeded to fall to the stone floor. The loud crash alerted Toris, Ivan's servant, who came rushing down a staircase to investigate the commotion.

Before he could make it all the way down, his attention was pulled to a window where he heard a tapping sound. He had just seen the swan flying away when he turned around. Something suspicious was happening and he had to figure out what. The animals had never come to the castle before, so why now? Were they just messing with him, trying to find something to do? Or did they actually have some kind of plan, some reason to be here? Whatever was going on, he knew he had to stop it.

The Lithuanian followed the swan up the stairs while the others made their way to the upper chamber to find the map. Somehow when they got there, Antonio had been the first to make in inside.

"Beat ya."

While Gilbert opened the window for Arthur, Francis climbed his way up the table to get to the map on the wall. Once the window was open, Gilbert took the pin holding the map up out of the wall causing it to fall on the frog. He then scooped the paper up in his talons after rolling it up, then made his way to the window to hand it over to the prince. But before he could reach him, Toris rushed over and closed the window.

"Yikes!"

"Quick, follow my awesomeness to the door!"

With quite a few sports-like methods of keep away, Toris chased the animals all throughout the castle. He wasn't exactly sure what they wanted with the map, but he knew it couldn't be good. And who knows what Ivan would do to him if he let the prisoners do anything he didn't like! If they were planning to escape, Ivan would kill him if he let them succeed! These thoughts motivated him to run faster, fearing for his life.

But in the end, the animals managed to escape the castle. Though not without injury.

Arthur pointed to the map that was spread out on the ground in front of him. "There's Alfred's kingdom. When do we leave?" The only answer he got were moans and groans of protest from his injured friends.

* * *

Back on Alfred's castle grounds, Lovino was sitting outside leaned up against a tree eating a tomato when the prince approached him. The blonde didn't say anything, just placed a torn page from a book in front of him, a picture of a mouse printed on it.

Lovino, not really getting what he was trying to tell him said, "It's a mouse."

"The Great Animal."

The Italian prince just laughed and smirked up at his best friend. "A little small, don't you think?"

"Well yeah. Until it changes into this." Alfred layed another page on top of the first one, this one just a picture of a large dragon.

Lovino raised an eyebrow at the creature on the page, not quite understanding what his companion was saying.

Alfred knew it was strange, and maybe a little hard to believe. So he elaborated. "An animal that can change it's shape. A harmless creature at first, but by the time it gets close, it's too late."

"So you mean...it could be anything?"

"Anything."

At first the Italian didn't think anything of the fly buzzing around him and his food. But with the thought that anything could be the Great Animal, he panicked. He yelped and fell backwards trying to get away from the insect, dropping his precious tomato.

"Chigi!"

* * *

**So after re-watching and analyzing the movie, I keep seeing all kinds of holes in the story and thinking of ways I could have been a much better villain. I mean, he spends 10 years coming up with a plan to take over William's kingdom, and that's the plan he comes up with? There are so many other things he could do! Change the appearance of his servant to look like Odette, marry her and rule the kingdom. Or he could change his own appearance to look like William! And he's spent months asking Odette to marry him but she keeps saying no, I think you need to change your plan instead of wasting all this time.**

**I will be pointing out more holes and ranting more about it when the time comes. But for now I hope you enjoyed this chapter, I've already started on the next chapter so that should be up soon.**

**Also I'm sorry if you were looking forward to the No Fear song, I really didn't want to put that song in the mix because they're on a kinda dangerous mission, singing is not a good idea if you don't want to get caught. So instead I put a little bit of the lyrics in as dialog.**

**See y'all next time!**


	8. Reunion

**Oh my gosh another chapter in less than a week? Holy shit. So the first chapter of my Moulin Rouge UsUk story is up, so check that out, tell me what you think!**

**Finally Alfred and Arthur will be reunited! I hope you enjoy the chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 8

"I feel I must apologize, mon ami. I did not realize how strongly you felt about your Alfred."

Ever since Arthur had come to Swan Lake those months ago, Francis had been constantly trying to get a kiss out of him, trying to woo him. When he was human Francis was known for being a womanizer, but he would never force himself on someone. He thought Arthur was just playing hard to get or something. But after seeing the look in his eyes and hearing the way he sang, he knew Arthur was dedicated to this Alfred person.

Arthur was a little surprised that the frog was apologizing. Yes he had been annoyed with his flirting but he didn't expect to get an apology. They were friends, though he wouldn't say so out loud, and he didn't take it too seriously. It wasn't like he had much else to do nowadays so he saw the frog's antics as some form of entertainment to pass the time.

"It's alright, Francis."

"No no, he is obviously very important to you and I've only been thinking of myself."

"Everyone does that."

"Please Arthur, don't make this harder than it needs to be. Just accept my apology."

"Alright alright, I accept."

"Good. Now we can kiss and make up," Francis puckered his lips at the swan.

"Francis," Arthur and Antonio warned.

"What? What did I say? I was joking!"

Suddenly Gilbert yelled from the shore, "Attention!"

Francis yelped in surprise and fell off of Antonio's back into the lake water.

"It is noon. Prepare for take off, Your Highness. Toni, Franny, you know your job."

The turtle saluted their self-appointed leader. "Ready for action."

"How about you, Franny?"

After pulling himself out of the water, the frog just ignored the bird while he dried himself off.

"Francis?"

Still nothing.

"My lord?"

There we go.

"Oui, I am ready."

"Then we're off!"

Gilbert and Arthur took to the skies, their plan finally in motion.

"Have a nice flight," Antonio called to them.

"Remember! If anything happens to him, I'll have you whipped, flogged, put on a wrack, and then have your back legs fried in butter!"

* * *

In the forest outside Alfred's kingdom, the prince and his Italian friend went in search of the Great Animal. They dismounted their horses and readied their arrows.

"What makes you think the Great Animal will be here?"

"I just have this feeling that something is coming...This is the closest I've gotten to finding Arthur, I'm willing to trust my gut."

"So how will we find it if it can become anything?"

"I'll know it when I see it."

"Oh yeah, that's real fuckin' reassuring."

"Just stay close."

Lovino bumped into his friend's back trying to get away from another bug he feared could be the creature they were hunting. "Yeah sure, whatever you say."

The Italian prince stayed fairly close, putting on a brave face on the outside but fearing a bit for his life on the inside. But as soon as he turned his back for a second, Alfred had wandered out of sight.

"Al? ...Alfred? ...Where the hell are you, bastardo?!"

"Shh!"

Turns out Alfred was only behind a tree not five feet away.

"Oh, there you are...J-Just making sure you didn't get eaten," Lovino stuttered embarrassed.

Alfred just rolled his eyes and smiled at his friend, then continued his search.

Lovino was only alone for maybe a minute before he set his eyes on a dragonfly buzzing around him. He tried to aim his arrow at it but it kept moving out of the way. "Dammit, stay still!" He fired but missed horribly, his arrow shooting up above the canopy.

* * *

Flying above the forest was Arthur and his eagle companion. The prince was feeling a bit nervous flying so low above the trees.

"Maybe we should fly a bit higher...You know, to avoid any hunters."

"Don't worry, Your Highness. My awesomeness can sense a hunter from a mile away." Right after this was said, an arrow came flying past the canopy and just barely missed Gilbert's head. "Ahh!"

They could hear a yell come from below, "Alfred!"

Arthur gasped. "Alfred? He's here!" Before he could move, Gilbert took a hold of his head and looked into his eyes. "Hold on now, Arthur. Do not lose your head. We will stick to the plan." But Arthur wasn't listening. All he could think about right now was now close Alfred was. So he tore out of Gilbert's hold and darted down into the forest. Gilbert called after the prince, "Arthur!"

* * *

Alfred moved slowly through the woods, alone now that Lovino had wandered off somewhere. He kept his arrow retracted in case something were to jump out. When he heard a rustle in some bushes he jumped and quickly aimed at it. After nothing came out he just ignored it and moved on. Maybe he was just being paranoid, but it felt like everything in the forest was out to get him. But that did seem like a possibility when the Great Animal could be literally anything. So when he saw something moving in the sun seeping in through the canopy, he quickly hid with his back to a tree. He peeked out from behind and saw a swan, flying towards him. He thought how strange it was for a swan to be in this forest.

"A swan...Are you kidding me right now?" It reminded him of the swan on Arthur's locket. Did this Great Animal think it was being funny? Was it mocking him? Well he was finally going to kill this creature. He would finally get Arthur back.

Arthur had spotted Alfred just before he hid. His wings glinted in the sunlight, giving off an almost magical feel. He flew towards his love, not realizing his ill intention. "Alfred..."

Alfred took in a deep breath before coming out from behind the tree, expertly aiming at the swan. "This is for Arthur!" He shot and...missed? Just before the arrow would have pierced the white bird, something swooped in and pushed it out of the way. So Alfred took off in persuit.

Arthur and Gilbert went back up above the canopy, flying back towards Swan Lake. "Thanks for the save, Gil. That bloody bastard shot at me!"

"Well you do look different than he remembers." The black eagle looked back and saw the prince still chasing them. Just like they wanted.

"We need to go faster, he's too close..."

Yes, Arthur was happy to see Alfred again after all these months. But he didn't expect to be shot at. It was understandable, he was unrecognizable to the other. To him he was probably just another animal to hunt in the forest. But he was still going to give him a scolding of a lifetime later. That is, if he lives through this.

"Too close?" Gilbert looked down again and couldn't see the blonde prince anymore, but knew he was still running after them. "He can't even see us any-" And for the second time that day, Gilbert barely managed to escape getting shot in the head with an arrow. "Ah! Speed up, speed up!"

"I told you, he's faster than he looks."

"Don't worry, Your Highness. The awesome me always has a plan!"

Arthur pressed on, wanting to hear his supposed plan, "Well?"

"Um..."

"Gilbert!"

"Ok ok! I have an idea! When he's ready to shoot again, fly into the sun and use the light to blind him!"

Alfred had hopped onto a large rock, his path clear of trees or anything else that might cause him to miss again. His eyes and arrow following the birds up as they flew higher. But just as he was going to release his arrow again, he had to look away, the sun temporarily blinding him. He shut his eyes tightly and moved a hand to shield them.

"You see, I told you it would work. All we have to do is stay in the light and everything will be ok." But what they didn't notice was that the sun behind them was setting. Looking down at Alfred, they saw the mountain's shadow fall over him. They looked back to see the sun set, then gasped when they turned around again and found Alfred wasn't on the rock anymore.

"Where did he go?!"

Arthur turned and gasped again when he saw Alfred standing on a higher pile of rocks behind them.

"Gil, quick! Into the trees!" They dodged another arrow by diving back down into the forest.

"Dammit..." Alfred muttered before jumping off the rock to chase them again.

This was the first time Arthur had ever been afraid of Alfred. Sure they fought when they were kids, but Arthur had never been afraid because he knew Alfred would not truly hurt him on purpose. He never used his full strength on him. Any time they had been injured was more often than not Arthur's fault. He was more bark than bite. But this was different. Alfred looked at him like a predator would look at his prey. His glare was full of hate. All Arthur could think about at the moment was getting away from the man he had longed to see for so long.

Arthur and Gilbert hid in the trees while Alfred looked up and all around, searching for anything white in the leaves.

"We need to do something, or we're dead."

"Well I think possums have the right idea. When you've got no other option, it's best to play dead." Gilbert took some red berries from the tree they hid in and smeared them on his chest, resembling blood. He fell back out of the tree, landing with a thud on the ground near Alfred's feet.

The prince lowered his weapon and walked over to the fallen bird, wondering if it was really dead. The answer would be no. How did he figure it out? He figured the bird was alive when it suddenly bit his foot. He yelped out in pain and dropped his bow, hopping and holding his foot trying to make the pain go away.

"Kesesesesese! That outta slow him down a little."

* * *

"Still no sign of them."

"I hope that imbecile knows what he's doing."

Just then, Antonio spotted Arthur and Gilbert coming their way. "Incoming!"

Francis took hold of a couple fireflies, waving them around to get their attention.

Gilbert called out, "There they are!"

It was then Alfred stumbled upon Swan Lake. For a moment he forgot about his pursuit of what he thought was the Great Animal to take in the sight before him. An abandoned castle by a lake, the moon reflected in the clear water. Though it was run down and old looking, it was in a way beautiful. How had he never found this place before?

Arthur and Gilbert landed where Francis and Antonio were waiting for them.

"Alright, Your Highness, it's time."

But Arthur seemed to hesitate. "I...I can't..."

"What? Arthur, you have to!"

"He'll kill me if I go down there!"

"You may not get this chance again. You need to do it now."

He knew that it wasn't likely this would happen again. He knew if he didn't do it now, he might never see Alfred again. So with some nodded encouragement from the others, he flew down to the water.

Alfred looked at the bird, confused as to why the Great Animal would come to him after all the running..er..flying away it did. But he didn't question it further and readied his arrow, aiming it at the swan in the middle of the lake.

Just as Arthur touched down in the water, the moon's reflection was covered by the clouds. He looked horrified at Alfred, expecting to get shot before he could transform.

"I've got you now..." Alfred muttered to himself. But before he could release his arrow, that blasted eagle from before swooped down and knocked him right in the head. Sick of the bird interfering, he aimed at the black eagle instead. Just as he was about to shoot it, there was a bright yellow light coming from behind him. Gilbert's distraction bought just enough time for the clouds to pass by the moon, the reflection shining under Arthur once again. Alfred quickly turned back to the lake and what he saw was something he never expected to see. The swan was engulfed in a whirlpool of water and light. When the water receeded and the light faded, left in the swan's place was...Arthur. He could only stare in disbelief. Was it an illusion? Had he finally lost his mind trying so hard to find the lost prince?

"Alfred..."

Hearing his voice convinced him. This had to be real. Arthur was standing right in front of him. He had finally found him. He dropped his bow on the ground and ran into the water to Arthur, wrapping his arms around him tightly. It felt so good to have him in his arms again, to feel his warmth, to hold his smaller body against his. He found it difficult to pull back, but when he did he was surprised to see tears in the Brit's eyes.

"A-Arthur, what's wrong?!"

The crying prince smacked the other upside the head. "You almost killed me, you wanker!"

"Ow! I'm sorry, I thought you were-" He was cut off by Arthur flinging his arms around his neck in a tight hug.

"You bloody git...I missed you..."

Alfred didn't hesitate to hug him back. "I missed you, too...No one believed me when I said you were still alive..."

"You can't stay here."

"What? Arthur, I'm never letting you out of my sight again!"

"Alfred, I know you don't listen very well when you're excited, but you need to listen to me now."

From where they were they could hear an almost childlike voice calling, "Arthur? Where are you?"

"Oh no..." Arthur paled, now whispering.

"What? Who is it?"

"He has me under a spell...Please, you have to go."

Alfred frowned. This must be the man who kidnapped Arthur and killed King Scott. The Great Animal.

They heard the voice call again, this time closer and louder, "Arthur!"

"Let him come. I'll-!"

"No," Arthur cut him off. "He has great power, you must get out of here...!"

"I'm not going without you."

"I can't leave, when the moon sets I'll turn back into a swan. I can only become human again from here. Please, just go...! You have to trust me..." Arthur pushed him forward, trying to lead him away from the lake.

After being led out of the water and towards the forest, Alfred turned back to Arthur. "There must be some way to break the spell." There was no way he was giving up now that he found Arthur. Spell be damned.

"There is." Arthur was almost embarrassed to tell Alfred. He knew it was the only way, but it was so cheesy. Like something out of a fairytale. He blushed faintly and glanced away from Alfred, not able to look him in the eyes as he told him. "You must...make a vow of everlasting love."

A blush spread across Alfred's face. But he didn't think about it too much before answering. "I'll do it!"

"And you have to prove it to the world."

"The...the world? How do I do that?"

"I...I don't know...!"

Ivan's voice got closer, "Arthur?"

Arthur gasped and pushed Alfred forward again. "Go...!"

Though against his better judgement, Alfred turned to leave. But stopped when a brilliant idea struck him. "The ball..." He turned back to Arthur with a smile on his face. "Tomorrow night, come to the castle. In front of all the royalty of the world, I'll make a vow of everlasting love!"

"Tomorrow night..." Arthur wasn't yet sure how he would make it to the castle at night as a human without Ivan finding him, but he would cross that bridge when he came to it. "Yes, I'll be there."

"Arthur?!"

"I-I'm coming!" Arthur finally answered. He did a shooing motion towards Alfred. "Go...!"

Alfred reached to the back of his neck, unclasping the necklace he wore. He tossed it to Arthur who caught it with ease. Arthur looked down at the necklace, surprised to see it was his swan locket. When he looked back up Alfred was gone.

"Arthur," came that chilling voice from behind him. Arthur quickly turned to face him, hiding the necklace behind his back. "Didn't you hear me calling you, Arthur?"

"Yes, I was just...on my way to come see you."

"Oh really? I thought I heard...voices."

Arthur paled but he tried to keep his composure. "Voices?"

"Yes...You weren't talking to yourself, were you?"

"Yes, I was! I...I've decided to become your...queen."

Now that was not something Ivan expected to hear. He knew the prince was lying but it was still a surprise. He decided to humor him. The sorcerer got down on one knee in front of the prince and smiled that innocent smile of his.

"Oh Arthur, you've made me so happy. I'll be a good king, you'll see. I'll wear nice clothes and I'll even trim my hair." He stood back up, his smile turning into a smirk. "By the way...you wouldn't happen to know who this belongs to, would you?" He revealed to Arthur the bow he found in the bushes. Alfred's bow.

And the last of Arthur's composure was crushed. Ivan knew all along that Alfred was there. He knew he was lying about talking to himself and about becoming his queen. He had heard everything.

"Think you're going to the ball, huh? Where your prince will make a vow of everlasting love. Did you really think you could fool me?" Ivan threw the bow into the lake.

Arthur had had enough of this. Being stuck at this lake with the sorcerer, feeling like he had no way out. But now he did. He was determined to finally escape this place and now that he had a chance, he wasn't about to let it pass him by.

"I will never be yours. I will marry Prince Alfred, and you cannot stop me!"

"Oh? Well I hate to tell you this, Your Highness." Ivan took hold of Arthur's hand he had been hiding behind his back and forced his fingers open, revealing the locket. He took it from Arthur and dangled it in front of him out of reach. "But you won't be able to go to the ball tomorrow night."

"You think you can stop me from going? If you want to keep me here...you'll have to kill me."

Ivan laughed loudly at Arthur's declaration. "No, I don't think I will. You see, you've forgotten one very important thing. Tomorrow night there is...no moon."

Every bit of determination and resolve Arthur had at the moment disappeared. Suddenly the only hope he had was taken away from him. If there was no moon, he couldn't become human. He couldn't go to the ball.

He ran into the woods, away from Ivan and his laughter. Away from the cold violet eyes that might see him cry.

* * *

**My god, I struggled with parts of this chapter like you wouldn't believe. The struggle is real.**

**Well I hope you enjoyed this chapter. I'll see you all again when I see you.**

**Review!**


	9. New Evil Plan

**I think I've decided to update regularly once a week, so expect a chapter every Thursday.**

**I could not take this one seriously, imagining Russia singing the No More Mr. Nice Guy song was just too funny. I could not keep a strait face while writing the scene.**

* * *

Chapter 9

Pushing the front doors of the Swan Lake castle open, Ivan walked in with Toris on his heels.

"No matter what they do, I'm always one step ahead of them."

Keeping Arthur away from the ball would be easy. But if Alfred made his vow of everlasting love for Arthur, his plans would be ruined. He could just kill Arthur, but then how would be become king of his kingdom? Besides, that wouldn't be much fun. Ivan needed to think of a way to stop Alfred from making his vow and still take Arthur's kingdom.

And then it hit him.

"Of course. Why hadn't I thought of it before?"

To be honest, most of the ten years he'd been banished were spent getting his powers back. He spent hardly any time at all thinking of how he was going to take over Scott's kingdom after killing the king. Marrying the prince just seemed like the easiest option at the time, but the prince was more stubborn than he thought he would be. But with this new plan, there was no way he could lose.

Ivan smiled at his servant, a look of intent in his eyes. Toris shrinked back a little, not liking the look he was receiving.

"What...?"

"It's brilliant. At the ball tomorrow night, Prince Alfred will make the vow to the wrong person."

"But...why would he do that?"

"Well he'll do it unknowingly. I'll make you look like Arthur, and you'll attend the ball in his place. Alfred will make the vow to you," he smirked. "And Arthur will die."

Toris frowned confused. "Why go through the trouble just to kill him? Why not kill him yourself?"

"Because, my dear Toris, that would be boring. Can you imagine the pain Arthur will feel? Dying slowly, heart broken after his love promises himself to another. And then Alfred, how he'll feel knowing it was him who caused Arthur's death. That is much more fun. Then I'll kill Alfred, no one will truly know what really happened, then you and I will rule Arthur's kingdom with everyone thinking you are him."

Ivan felt pretty proud of his new plan, but was disappointed he didn't think of it sooner. Though he supposed it was better late than never.

_"Gosh, it's such a hoot to see them quaking. When I'm king they'll treat me with respect. I can't wait to watch their poor hearts breaking. So much for politically correct."_

With a flash of magic, a red carpet was rolled down the grand staircase and the whole room changed. The chandelier lit up, the walls were painted, the floor was polished, and the tapestries were void of a single tear. The fountain was also repaired, the statue on top of three women no longer cracked and broken. Even Ivan's clothes changed. His black coat and scarf had turned white, and he donned a shining crown fit for a king. He slid down the staircase banister.

_"Up 'til now I've pulled my punches. I intend to eat their lunches. No more Mr. Nice Guy, not for me."_

Toris couldn't imagine how eating their lunches could be evil in any way but he wasn't willing to say anything while Ivan was having his moment. Besides, he quickly forgot about the song lyrics when he saw the cute Polish boy the sorcerer conjured up. Before pushing him into the fountain that is.

_"If you think that I'm hard-hearted, well, let me by, I haven't even started."_

With a zap the three female statues came to life, singing backup. One had shoulder-length blonde hair and emerald green eyes. Another girl had tan skin, long dark hair tied into pigtails with red ribbons, and golden honey eyes. The last girl was oriental with long brunette hair, a long curl coming off the side, and gold eyes. The three of them all wore floor-length pink dresses varying in shades.

_"No more Mr. Nice Guy, no siree!"_

A blast of magic later, the sorcerer had conjured up Roderich and his band, the magic bouncing between them and their instruments knocking them over. Ivan laughed at the small chaos.

_"Soon as my witchcraft has zinged them, I'll gain control of the kingdom."_

Next to him appeared an illusion of Arthur, but the prince soon took the form of a swan before disappearing completely.

_"As for Arthur, well that's tragic. 'Cause I'm going back to that old black magic."_

A black top hat appeared in Ivan's hand. The enchantor reached into the hat and pulled out young Erland by his rabbit ears. The hat and rabbit boy then both disappeared together.

_"Good behavior is so much duller. Time to show my one true color."_

His three backup girls sang, _"Baby, Mr. Nice Guy's history."_

Ivan poofed up an illusion of Alfred next to him. _"Vengeance is what I believe in. I don't get mad, I get even," _he sang before punching the fake prince square in the jaw.

_"Arthur can't get to the ball 'cause I won't bring him. So I'll zap up a date who's a real dead ringer."_

The sorcerer looked to Toris, who seemed pretty nervous as to what the man was going to do to him. With a zap Toris donned a black formal military style prince's uniform with gold accents. It took a second blast for Ivan to get his servant's face right but soon Toris had short and messy blonde hair, emerald green eyes, and thick eyebrows that turned heads. He looked exactly like Prince Arthur.

_"Up to no good, I love plottin'. 'Cause I'm so good when I'm rotten."_

With one more blast, Toris now wore the golden swan locket Ivan had taken from the real prince. He looked down at the necklace, feeling bad about what he was going to do...but he knew he wasn't in a position to oppose his master.

_"No more Mr. Nice Guy, wait and see."_

_"Wait and see," _the girls echoed.

_"I'll become that nasty, naughty, very spiteful, wicked, wayward, way delightful bad guy I was born to be."_

And just when you thought it was over, Toris offered a "Once more?". Though he didn't approve of the plan, he did enjoy seeing this side of Ivan. It was amusing. The enchantor just shrugged and continued on.

_"Lying, loathsome, never tender, indiscreet repeat offender. No more Mr. Nice Guy, that's not me."_

As he finished his little number, the room faded back to being that cold and dark wreck that it was, his female backup singers turning back to stone on top of the fountain. Ivan laughed as he exited the castle, calling back to his one person audience, "Thank you, thank you very much".

* * *

The next day, in Queen Elizaveta's grand ballroom, preparations were being made for the ball taking place that night. Roderich was rehearsing with his band, Elizaveta was arranging bouquets of flowers, and servants ran around doing their own jobs. Alfred came in yelling for Lovino, for he hadn't seen him since they were out hunting the day before. He figured the Italian had gotten scared while being left alone and had gone back to the castle without him, leaving Alfred to pursue his swan. The blonde prince gave up his search for his best friend for a minute, instead approaching his mother when he saw what she was doing.

"Mother, what is this?"

"They're roses," she said with a raised eyebrow, wondering if her son was serious in not knowing what roses looked like.

"They're red."

She turned her attention back to the roses saying, "Of course they are."

"But I don't want red roses. I want white ones. You know, like a swan. Anyways, have you seen Lovino?"

"No," she answered dismissively.

Alfred then turned to Roderich to comment on his choice of music, fast and lively. "No no no no, not like that."

The Austrian musician directed his band to stop playing and looked at the prince slightly insulted that he didn't like his masterpiece. "What's wrong?"

"Tonight the music must be played..." he paused, trying to think of the right words, "rubato, soft and graceful. Like a swan."

Roderich raised an eyebrow in question. "A swan?"

"Have you ever seen a swan, Roderich?"

"Of course I've seen a swan."

"Well, if you could play a swan, what would it sound like?"

Roderich instructed his tuba player, the musician playing a sound that was supposed to sound like a bird squawking. The Austrian laughed at his bad joke. Alfred just rolled his eyes, but with a smile.

"Soft and graceful, Roderich." The prince turned to the rest of the room and asked again, "Where is Lovino?"

Elizaveta finally answered for everyone, "No one has seen him, Alfred."

Alfred just grinned and put his fists on his hips. "Well then who's gonna be my best man?"

The queen blinked, taking a moment to figure out if she had heard him right. When she regained her senses she smiled, tightening her grip on the roses she held in her hands.

"Best...you mean-?"

Alfred's smile grew as he winked at his mother, silently telling her he finally found the one he was going to marry.

"Oh Alfred, I'm so happy! Who is it?" she questioned while Roderich and his band began playing a much softer song than before.

"There you go, Roderich!" Alfred began to dance along with an invisible partner, until he took his mother's hand and danced with her. Elizaveta happily laughed and danced around the room with her son. She let out a surprised yelp when she was dipped back, her long hair falling into a punch bowl and temporarily being dyed red. But she was too giddy to really care at the moment.

"Don't be so secretive, Alfred, tell me who it is!"

But Alfred wouldn't tell just yet. He wanted it to be a surprise when Arthur arrived. So he ignored his mother's question and pulled her back up, spinning her out onto the dance floor. When she spun, her wet hair splashed Roderich, who let out a not-so-manly noise. Alfred now held the roses Elizaveta had been carrying before he whisked her away to dance. He laughed, feeling happier than he had since before Arthur had gone missing, and tossed the flowers high up into the air.

* * *

As Alfred's roses fell down, so did the ones Ivan dropped down to Arthur. The evil enchanter had the poor swan locked in a water-filled tower of the castle. The prince just ignored the flowers, looking up at Ivan with anger and defiance in his eyes. Ivan looked down upon the swan from a window of the tower, much too high for anyone from inside to reach.

"Now now, don't look at me like that, Arthur. I hate to lock you up, really I do. But a king must make difficult decisions. You understand, da?"

Arthur refused to speak and instead ripped apart the roses given to him with his beak.

"Oh you're mad at me. I just can't do anything right, can I? I can't leave like this, because if you're unhappy then I'm not happy. Hmm...I know, since you can't go to the ball, I'll just bring the ball to you. First thing you'll need is a prince."

The wooden door next to the window opened, revealing Toris trying to push Prince Lovino through the doorway and into the water. Arthur almost immediately recognized him as Alfred's best friend. The Italian wasn't going down without a fight, gripping the edge of the doorway, curses falling from his mouth every other word. But with one hard push he lost his grip and fell head first into the lake water. When he resurfaced he took hold of a chain dangling down next to the stone wall to help keep himself up. The water was in no way shallow and it would take too much energy to stay afloat alone.

"Poor thing was lost in the woods."

Ivan was just about to leave when Lovino yelled up to him, "Get your ass back here!"

"Oh I'm sorry, but if I don't go now, I'll be late. And that's just tacky." As he was about to close the window he caught a glimpse of Arthur scowling at him as best he could with a beak. "Don't you give me that look. You just had to be sneaky, dragging your prince into this, didn't you? Well that's fine with me. Just fine," he said before slamming the window closed, locking it so the bird couldn't fly out.

* * *

**We're coming down the home stretch, I think this will only have two chapters left. Maybe three, I'll probably do an epilogue chapter.**

**So I'll see you all again next week! If you haven't checked out my Moulin Rouge story yet, I ask that you take a look!**

**Review!**


	10. Ball

**Yes, I understand that the way the spell SHOULD work is if Alfred makes the vow to Arthur in his mind, but **_**physically gestures to the wrong person**_** the spell should still know he means Arthur, not Toris who looks like Arthur. But the spell is stupid and thinks that he means Toris just because he **_**fucking physically gestured to him even though he looks just like Arthur uuuuuuugh can you tell how much this movie frustrates me now that I'm old enough to question it. **_**I'm sure that if you were to rewatch the movie, you would see the plot holes and understand my frustration.**

**Just in case you wonder later on, Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus are not related in this. Same for Prussia and Germany if he comes in later.**

**Enjoy the chapter and have a happy Thanksgiving!**

* * *

Chapter 10

Kings and queens, princes and princesses, they came from all around for Elizaveta's ball. As they arrived, three footmen were there to greet them. One had short silvery white hair, light pink-ish eyes, and a puffin perched on his shoulder. The other two were both Asian men with short dark brown hair and golden eyes, one with a large grin on his face and the other with a more bored expression. They sang as they opened coach doors for the guests.

_"Every single royal on the planet prayed to be invited to the ball. Every Lili, Lucille, and Kim-Ly would come by coach or boat to be here. Most would swim the moat to be here, just to be at this historic gala. They would walk around or even crawl. Rumor is that at this joyous scene tonight the prince will likely choose his future queen tonight."_

Inside the queen's room, Elizaveta and Alfred were putting the finishing touches on their ball attire. Elizaveta was putting the last of her jewelry on while Alfred tried to get that one piece of hair to stay down, though he wasn't having any luck. Eventually he gave up. After a knock on the door, Feliks peeked his head into the room.

"Your Majesty, it's, like, getting totally crowded."

"Very well, you may begin the introductions. We'll be out in a moment."

The chamberlain was just about to leave when the queen spoke again.

"And Feliks, no mistakes this time."

The Polish boy let out an awkward sounding laugh, blushing in embarrassment at the reminder of his mistake from the last ball they held.

"Like, no way, never again, Your Majesty." And with that he closed the door behind him and made his way back to the party.

Elizaveta smiled at her son before getting up from her seat in front of the mirror and making her way to the door as well. "Don't forget Alfred, I want you to tell me who it is the moment they arrive."

The prince just chuckled as he followed her out the door. "Don't worry, you'll know him when you see him. Trust me."

* * *

Outside the castle of Swan Lake, Gilbert paced back and forth, him and his two companions trying to figure out a plan to free Arthur from his watery prison and get him to the ball. Suddenly Gilbert stopped all movement and yelled out, "Ah!" The surprise caused Francis to fall back into the dirt.

"What?"

"It's coming," replied the black eagle.

Antonio and Francis raised their eyebrows in confusion. The turtle asked, "What is?"

"An idea. An awesome, huge, colossal idea!"

"Sounds big."

The bird wrapped his wings around the Spanish turtle's neck, pulling him in close to listen to his amazing idea.

"Alright, listen to this. Water leaks into the dungeon, right? So there must be a hole in the wall somewhere. We'll swim down to the bottom of the lake, find the hole, make the hole bigger, and BAM! Arthur is free!"

"I think you are forgetting two things," Francis said pointing to the alligators in the water.

"His lordship has a point," Antonio had to admit.

"Not to worry. First we'll need a scout."

"And just who do you think is going to get in that water with those beasts?"

Gilbert grinned at the frog. "He's got to be a good swimmer."

"I should say so."

Antonio had caught on to what Gilbert was trying to do. "He's got to be small."

"Teeny tiny, not to be seen."

The black eagle put his wing around Francis' shoulders and leaned in as if telling him a secret. "And it wouldn't hurt if he were green for camouflage."

"That's right, good swimmer, small, and gree- mon Dieu, you mean me?!" Francis tried to make a run for it once he realized they were going to make him get in the gator infested lake. But he didn't make it very far before his friends pulled him back towards the water.

* * *

"Thank you all for being here. I know some of you just hate pageants, but being a pageant girl myself in my younger days, I just couldn't resist! 1, 2, 3," Elizaveta counted down, music starting on her queue.

Alfred watched on in horror and embarrassment as the curtains were drawn back revealing princes and princesses for him to choose from. He had asked his mother not to turn this into one of her beauty pageants, but of course she didn't listen. Some of the suitors he recognised. Feliks stood at the front, soaking up the attention as he sang.

_"Beauty and glamour and breeding unmatched."_

_"Royals on parade."_

_"Lovely, enthralling, and all unattached."_

They all made their way down the grand double staircase.

_"The hoi polloi and those well-bred agree each enjoy a royal pedigree."_

_"Born for success,"_

_"Each possesses a spark, each a remarkable choice."_

The suitors made there way over to Alfred, who just stood there feeling awkward and embarrassed.

_"Boy oh boy these royal highnesses all have pluses, they've no minuses. Gaze upon,"_

_"Royals on parade."_

Roderich jumped in then, giving introductions for some of the princes and princesses.

"This princess comes from Ukraine where corn and sunflowers grow. She plays croquet and harpsichord and sews her own clothes!"

A rather large breasted woman approached Alfred with a smile and curtsied before bouncing away.

"Miss Natalia isn't known for taking the path of least resistance. She hails from Belarus and came the farthest distance."

This princess had a naturally scarier look on her face, but upon reaching Prince Alfred her cheeks turned a light shade of pink as she curtsied to him.

"This prince lives to help the world, he finds no task too menial. And all the other royals think he's the most congenial."

Lovino's younger twin brother, Prince Feliciano, came up to Alfred and happily shook his hand. As Alfred kissed his hand, the Italian prince leaned in and whispered to the other, "Have you seen my fratello?" He knew that he and Lovino were best friends, so if anyone would know where his brother was then he would. Alfred gave a small smile. "No, I'm afraid I haven't. I've been looking for him since this morning." Feliciano nodded and went back to his business, blowing kisses to the ladies in the room.

"Vash is from Switzerland where our weapons and armor is made!"

A short blonde man holding two AK-47s in his hands approached the prince with quite the intimidating look on his face. He bowed to be polite, but other than that he didn't seem to want a kiss or a handshake. And Alfred was going to fully respect that in fear of getting shot.

_"Gaze upon," _Feliks continued on.

_"Royals on parade."_

_"This is the likely occasion when the heir to the throne picks a wife."_

The suitors sang together, _"This may be the day that Prince Alfred will say,"_

_"Where have you been all my life?" _Feliks sang in place of Alfred. Some of the princesses swooned at the thought of Prince Alfred choosing them to be his bride.

_"Brilliant, beguiling, the smiling brigade."_

_"Royals on parade."_

_"Each the pride of their community, each a golden opportunity."_

_"Just the thought that crown Prince Alfred'll face his choice and he's hysterical."_

The princes and princesses climbed back up the staircase as the song was coming to an end.

_"Gaze upon, heap praise upon,"_

_"These radiant, glamorous, luminous, dazzling,"_

_"Royals on parade!"_

Feliks took a bow at the end of his number, soaking in the applause. He was feeling pretty good about himself. That is, until there was a knock at the grand front doors. Alfred looked up, a smile growing on his face knowing who it must be. Elizaveta however had to force her smile as she regarded the chamberlain.

"Feliks, all who were invited are present, are they not?"

This had to be a joke. This wasn't really happening. Had he really messed up again? Did he forget someone again? Feliks looked through his list of guests checking for anyone he might have missed but he didn't find any mistake. "Yes, Your Majesty, I..." There was another knock on the doors.

"Open the door," the queen commanded of him.

Feliks raced up the staircase to the entrance, muttering to himself. "It's totally the milkman." Though really, the milkman wouldn't come at this time of night to the front door during a party. But Feliks was in so much denial, not wanting to come to terms with making another big mistake, that he would believe it anyway. When he opened the door to see it wasn't the milkman, he was a little more than disappointed. But when he realized who it was standing before him, his eyes widened with shock. Standing at the door in front of him was someone everyone had believed to be dead. At the doorway stood who he believe to be...Arthur.

* * *

**I probably would have made this chapter longer but I really needed to get it out, and it's Thanksgiving so I can't spend all day working on it. It'll just have to wait until next week!**

**The footmen in the beginning were Korea, Hong Kong, and Iceland. The girls mentioned in their song were Monaco (Lucille, she doesn't have an official name and it was just one of the ones I found for her), Liechtenstein (Lili), and Vietnam (Kim-Ly, she also doesn't have an official name and this was one of the common names I found for her). The suitors were Ukraine, Belarus, Italy, and Switzerland. But that was obvious, I mentioned where they were from.**

**I hope you have a great Thanksgiving, eat lots of turkey and pie! Review, I'll see you all next week!**


	11. A Surprise Guest

**Applying for college is a pain in the ass. Being an adult is going to suck. But I've put it off long enough I suppose. Though how much you wanna bet even when I start college I'll still be an immature child most of the time, JUST TRY AND MAKE AN ADULT OUT OF ME, YOU'LL HAVE TO TAKE ME KICKING AND SCREAMING.**

**Anyways, enough of my ranting, on to the chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 11

Feliks gasped seeing Arthur at the entrance. The room was silent. Roderich's jaw dropped at the sight and Elizaveta, much like everyone else, was speechless. The smile on Alfred's face grew as the long lost prince came inside, walking down the grand staircase. Passing by the chamberlain, the fake Arthur winked at the Polish man. Toris recognized him from Ivan's illusion the previous day. Feliks however didn't pay much attention to the surprise guest, as he was too distraught thinking that he had indeed missed someone on the guest list, not knowing that this person was not actually formally invited.

"Well it's not the milkman..." muttered Feliks.

Elizaveta made her way to the front of the crowd to get a better look. Of course everyone knew who this person looked like, but it was hard to believe that it could really be him. The queen knew that by the look on Alfred's face, this must be the one he intended on marrying.

"It can't be..."

She squeezed through her guests trying to find Roderich. When she found him she gripped his arm and shook him around a little. "Do you know him?" "No, I-" Elizaveta shook the musician more. "Oh come on, I know Alfred confides in you, who is it?!" "I promise, I've never seen him before! But...he does look quite a bit like..." Roderich let his sentence hang, almost as if saying the missing prince's name would make this situation more real and not like a dream. "But it couldn't be...could it?" the queen questioned. Of course they wanted to believe it was him, but it seemed so unrealistic. The prince had been missing for months after an attack where his father had died. So naturally it would be thought that he himself had also died.

The false Arthur came up to Alfred, smiling at his fiance. Alfred let out a sigh of relief as he grinned back. "I was starting to get worried. I almost thought.."

"Nothing could keep me away."

With a snap of Alfred's fingers, the music started up again. He pulled the smaller male closer with one hand on the other's waist, his other hand holding 'Arthur's gently. Alfred led him around the dance floor, a little surprised his fiance went along so easily.

* * *

"If I die during your crazy mission, I will come back as a ghost and haunt you," Francis complained as he prepped himself to jump into the moat.

"Yeah yeah, sure. So Toni will lure the gators away while you jump in and find the hole in the wall."

"If the alligators don't eat me before I can get to it."

"Don't worry, just scream and Toni will rush to your rescue."

Francis just rolled his eyes. "Oh sure, the turtle will rush to save me."

"Yup, that's the awesome me's plan!"

"Suddenly I feel so much more confident," the French frog said, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

But Gilbert just ignored it and gave out orders. "Good, now stretch out. You ready, Antonio?"

"Ready," answered the turtle from the water. He splashed around and taunted the gators, getting their attention. "Hey, over here! Bet you can't catch me!" Then he swam away as they chased him. With the threat momentarily distracted, Francis got ready to run.

"On your mark, get set...go!"

Francis leaped forward, making a jump for the water.

"Faster, faster!" Gilbert tried to encourage.

"I'm not so eager to race to my death!" Sadly one of the gators noticed Francis and went after him instead. The frog skidded to a stop at the edge of the water, throwing him off balance and causing him to fall into the moat. "Ahh!" He tried to climb back out but kept slipping. Just before the beast with large teeth could eat him, Francis jumped out of the way, and the gator slammed face first into the moat's wall. Antonio sped by, quite fast in the water.

"Get moving, slow poke."

"Slow poke?! Who are you to call me slow?"

Francis dove down underwater with now both alligators following him. But they stopped when Antonio zoomed past them, catching their attention once more. He teased and taunted, doing his best to keep the attention on himself.

"Na na na na na, you can't catch me," he called in a sing-song voice.

With the beasts distracted, Francis searched the outside wall of the dungeon, looking for a big enough hole to get through. Once he found one, he began squeezing into the crack, his legs sticking out. As Antonio passed with the gators following him, one of them noticed Francis' little green legs wiggling about and decided to try and take a snap at them. In his attempt, he slammed into the wall, giving Francis that extra push he needed to get to the other side of the wall. He popped out the other side and out of the water, bouncing off the walls a couple times until he caught on a chain hanging on the wall.

Arthur and Lovino were startled to see the frog suddenly. "Francis?"

"Oui, to the rescue," said the frog before falling back into the water.

Outside the dungeon in a tree by the moat, Gilbert sat on a branch looking down into the water waiting for Antonio to give him the signal. Just then the turtle shot out of the water and spun around before landing back in. The signal.

"Time for me to show off my awesome diving skills!"

Now that Francis had found a way in, it was Toni's job to help make the hole bigger. While he was busy with that, it was now Gilbert's turn to distract the gators. He dove into the water in a swan dive (haha) and waved his wings around gaining their attention.

"Hey! You don't want that turtle. How about something a little more awesome? Like me!"

With the gators chasing Gilbert, Antonio was free to dig the hole bigger on one side while Francis pulled stones aside on the other. When the hole in the wall was big enough for Toni to get through, they deemed it large enough for Arthur to fit through, too. Francis swam back up to the surface.

"We broke through, let's go!"

"Thank you, Francis...I just might kiss you when this is all over."

Francis thought maybe he imagined it. But when he realized it was real, he whooped with joy. "Woohoo!"

Arthur swam to Lovino, who was still holding onto the chain on the wall, and tugged on his sleeve. "Follow us out when you think it's safe."

Lovino just nodded, pretty freaked out that animals were talking. Even when he figured out that it was Arthur, it still weirded him out.

The swan prince took a deep breath and dove underwater. He swam to the hole where Antonio was looking out to see if the coast was clear. The alligators were still chasing Gilbert, perfect. "Alright, let's go."

Antonio went first, then Francis. As soon as Arthur swam out behind the frog, one of the gators made a snap for his tail. "Ah!" When Arthur passed Antonio, the turtle bit down on the tail of the gator chasing him. That soon earned him a face full of sharp teeth, a growl passing by them. Antonio smiled and said nervously, "Amigos call me Toni.."

When the second alligator went for Arthur's tail feathers as he made it out of the water, Gilbert scratched the beast in the snout with his talons. Finally free, Arthur took to the skies towards Alfred's castle.

* * *

While Alfred and 'Arthur' danced to the song Alfred had requested from Roderich earlier that day, the taller prince couldn't help but think that something was different about the other. He appeared too calm for the situation. Sure, Alfred was happy that Arthur was able to forget the bad things while they danced, but it wasn't like him. He didn't know how Arthur managed to escape that evil man to be here tonight and he didn't seem worried that the enchanter might come looking for him. "Something seems different about you."

The fake Arthur may have seemed calm and collected on the outside, but on the inside Toris was starting to panic. He didn't feel good at all about what he was doing, the loving looks Alfred gave him made his heart ache, but he couldn't disobey Ivan. He knew what the sorcerer was capable of and knew that he wouldn't hesitate to kill him if he didn't do this. He had to do whatever it took to keep the prince believing he was Arthur. Toris stopped their dancing to dig into his pocket, pulling out the golden swan locket Ivan had giving him after taking it from the poor cursed prince. He hoped that having the necklace would prove without a doubt that he was Arthur.

"Don't worry. Tonight, everything is perfect," he tried to reassure with a smile.

Alfred smiled at the sight of the locket. He took it from the other and clasped it around 'Arthur's neck. "Of course." It was enough to put Alfred at ease, not being one who could read the atmosphere very well. Alfred held the other's hand again and continued their dance. As they moved past Roderich the prince said to him, "Roderich, I want to make an announcement. Stop the music."

* * *

Arthur flew as fast as he could, he was close enough he could see the brightly lit castle.

* * *

As the music stopped, Alfred guided his love to the center of the room where everyone could see and hear him.

When the swan reached the castle, he came to a large window looking in at the ball room. He breathed heavily, never having flown with such urgency before, even when he was leading Alfred back to Swan Lake. When he spotted Alfred inside, he gasped, shocked to see someone who looked exactly like himself standing next to him.

"Kings and queens, ladies and gentlemen, mother.." Elizaveta was tearing up with happiness. "I have an announcement to make."

* * *

Arthur tried to get his attention. "Alfred, no! It's a trick!" But he couldn't be heard through the glass.

"I have found my bride! I present him to you as the future queen of our kingdom." The guests clapped with excitement and joy at the news. As he continued, he turned his back to the window Arthur was tapping.

By now Arthur was panting not with exhaustion, but with panic. He was beginning to hyperventilate. He flew around to another window trying to catch Alfred's eye. But every time he came close to Alfred's field of vision, the older prince was turned away or distracted by his double.

Alfred continued his speech, oblivious to the frantic swan outside. In the presence of the representatives of the world, he was ready to make his vow. "As proof of my love for him, I make a vow to break all vows..."

* * *

Arthur flew around the castle, trying to find another opening to get inside. An open window, an unlocked door, anything. When he had no luck breaking in, he returned to the ball room window, his mind racing trying to think of what to do.

"A vow stronger than all the powers of the earth, before you and before the whole world, I make a vow of everlasting love..."

"ALFRED!" Arthur screamed as loud as he could, desperate to be heard.

"...to Arthur," said the prince as he gestured to the false Arthur next to him. The wrong prince.

"NO!" As soon as Alfred finished making his vow, Arthur felt a pain in his chest. He felt like he was being ripped open, like this heart was being torn into two pieces. He knew this must be it. He was dying.

* * *

**Okay so there should only be two chapters left, the next one and the epilogue chapter. I know I've said it before, but then Thanksgiving came around and I made the previous chapter shorter than I wanted to, yada yada yada. Anyways, this is almost over.**

**I'll see you all next week, I hope you enjoyed this chapter! Review!**


	12. The Final Battle

**Yay I was able to get the chapter out before midnight! So I'm not late! I would've had it uploaded sooner but my laptop has been acting up for the past two days and I had somewhere to be today. I'll upload the epilogue tomorrow instead of waiting another week since it'll be short.**

**Also, if you happen to be reading my Moulin Rouge story, I know it's been a while since I updated but I've started writing the next chapter and hope to get it out sometime before Christmas.**

**Anyways, enough of that, here's the chapter!**

* * *

Chapter 12

The clapping and cheering of the guests drowned out Arthur's screams of agony outside. But the joyous applauding soon turned to silence when the lights went out and a strong wind blew the windows open one by one along with the front doors. Standing at the entrance was none other than Ivan. The air blowing in caused a chill to run down Alfred's spine, though it was partially because the sight of the sorcerer made the prince feel cold and uncomfortable. Something in those violet eyes reminded him of a freezing snowy night. The taller prince pushed 'Arthur' behind himself protectively.

"Who are you?"

Ivan just chuckled, ignoring the question. "Prince Alfred...how naughty of you, pledging your love to another."

"What are you talking about?" Alfred stepped forward, closer to the intruder. "This is Arthur."

Ivan laughed louder. He was pleased that Alfred had fallen for his trick, but couldn't help but think how funny it was that he was stupid enough to not know the difference between the real and the fake Arthur. Toris must be a better actor than he thought. "No, Arthur is mine." The evil enchanter held his hand out and closed his fingers around what he imagined to be Arthur in his palm.

It then clicked in Alfred's mind. This must be the one who took Arthur away. The one who had been holding him captive. The one who put Arthur under the spell. He furrowed his brow, a scowl forming on his lips.

"You," he growled out. "You have no power here! I made a vow of everlasting love, your spell is broken!"

Ivan grinned, unable to contain his giddiness anymore. His plan was working wonderfully and it felt so good. The feeling of knowing that everything around Alfred would soon crash down, that the other had put his lover to death himself. "You made a vow alright. A vow of everlasting...death!" The sorcerer pointed to the false Arthur, a blast of light shooting from his fingertips, hitting and knocking him down.

'Arthur' held his arms up defensively, not anticipating the attack. He fell back with a grunt, his arms covering his face.

"ARTHUR!" Alfred rushed over to his fallen fiance, not knowing what the magic did and fearing the worst. He moved the other's arms away from his face to inspect him for damage. But where he expected to see forest green eyes, he instead saw a pair of guilty, apologetic blue eyes. His blonde hair had grown and turned brown as well. This wasn't Arthur. "What...?"

"You should have just left him to me. Now because of you, Arthur will die." Ivan gestured to one of the open windows. Alfred looked up to see the real Arthur flying away from the castle.

"Arthur!"

* * *

Arthur breathed heavily as he flew as fast as he could in his weak state back towards Swan Lake.

Chasing after the swan once again, Alfred raced off the castle grounds on horseback and into the forest to find his way back to where he found Arthur the night before. All around him he could hear Ivan's voice. "He's fading fast, little prince~"

"No!" Alfred denied. He had finally gotten so close to having Arthur back, he wouldn't lose him now.

Back at Swan Lake, Arthur's trio of friends could hear the echo of Ivan's laughter. "Something's gone wrong..." Gilbert muttered. Even inside the dungeon, Lovino could hear Ivan's laugh everywhere. Lovino knew there was a way out but at the time he thought it was safer to stay inside. Now he wasn't so sure.

Arthur's vision was becoming fuzzy, the image of the Swan Lake castle blurry in the distance. He could barely fly strait anymore as it was becoming increasingly difficult to stay airborne.

"If you hurry, Alfred, I'll let you see him one last time."

Once Alfred came to a patch of thicker tree branches in his way, his horse stopped, unable to get past them. So he quickly dismounted the animal and began to cut them down himself with the sword at his side.

Finally Arthur came into Gilbert and company's view. But they knew something was wrong from the way he was flying. "I don't think he's going to make it.." Antonio muttered. "Come on, you can do it.." Gilbert silently cheered the prince on. Arthur flew lower until he was able to touch the water, finally allowing himself to fall to the ground when he reached the shore. Laying on his back, he changed back to human form. The spell had run its course now that he was on the brink of death.

Soon after, Alfred had made it to Swan Lake. Barely noticing the three animals following him he rushed over to the fallen prince, kneeling to the ground and scooping the other into his arms. "Arthur..." he whispered. "What have I done...? I'm so sorry..."

"Alfred..." Arthur forced his eyelids open, looking up blearily into Alfred's blue eyes. The younger prince was paler than usual. "I feel so weak...I'm..."

"No, don't say it...You'll live, you have to...The vow I made was for you..." Alfred held the other close with his head against his chest, listening to his weak heartbeat.

Even when he was so close to the end, Arthur couldn't help but smile. "I know...I love you, Alfred..." His eyes slipped closed and he took his last breath. Alfred felt his heart skip a beat when Arthur's stopped completely. He pulled back enough to look at Arthur's pale face. "No...Arthur! Wake up," he pleaded as he shook the other lighly. "Please...wake up! You can't die! Wake up and yell at me! Call me a stupid git for doing this to you, hit me for endangering your life again!" By this point, Alfred could feel tears welling up in the corners of his eyes. But his sorrow was soon replaced by anger when he remembered the one who was really at fault here. He looked around, knowing that he must be close by watching him.

"I made the vow for him...Do you hear me?! The vow I made was for him!"

"No need to shout, little prince~"

Alfred gently laid Arthur on the ground then stood up, turning to the voice behind him. "Don't let him die," he growled out, glaring at the sorcerer.

Ivan smirked. "Is that a threat?"

Alfred strode up to the other and grabbed his black scarf, pulling him down to eye level. "Don't you_dare_ let him die!"

"Ooh it _is_ a threat~"

"You're the only one with the power...Now do it!"

Having enough of Alfred yelling in his face, Ivan shoved the prince to the ground. "Only if you defeat me." Magic sparked from his hands and with a lightning strike of power Ivan became the very beast that killed King Scott and his men. With silvery white fur, sharp teeth, large wings, and piercing violet eyes that almost glowed, he let out a terrifying shriek.

"The Great Animal," Alfred mumbled, his eyes widening in horror.

On the sidelines Gilbert, Antonio, and Francis held each other quaking with fear. "I'm betting on the animal," muttered Antonio. Yes, it was an awful thing to think, but things weren't looking so good for Alfred right now.

Alfred shook his fear off. This was for Arthur, he couldn't be a coward now. He had to be Arthur's hero. He drew his sword from the scabbard at his side. "I won't let Arthur die!"

The creature shot forward, making a snap at Alfred. The prince stepped to the side and swung his sword like a bat, leaving a deep gash in the monster's shoulder. Ivan screeched in pain and craned his neck to inspect the injury. He then grinned a cheshire cat smile and flew high into the air. Alfred looked up but lost the beast in the trees. He looked in all directions but it was nowhere to be seen. Then when his back was turned Ivan burst through the trees and tackled Alfred to the ground. The prince rolled onto his back and held up his sword preparing for another strike. But the giant animal took the sword into its mouth and shattered the blade with its teeth. Now without a weapon, Alfred looked around for anything he could use. He picked up a large rock and banged it against the claws holding him down, the pain causing the monster to loosen its grip enough for the prince to slip out.

Suddenly Gilbert got an idea that could help Alfred in his fight. "The bow, Alfred's bow! The one Ivan threw into the lake!" The black eagle grabbed Francis. "Swim to the bottom of the lake and get the bow," he said before throwing the poor frog into the lake, a yelp being heard just before he hit the water.

While Francis went in search of Alfred's bow, the prince was being lifted into the air by the beast, its claws digging into his arms. He tried to pry them off but the grip was too tight. When Ivan thought they were high enough, he dropped the prince leaving him to free fall into the trees. When Alfred had fallen low enough, Ivan grabbed him again and thrown him into a tree. Alfred let out a yell at the pain in his back.

Hearing the commotion outside, Lovino decided he should go out and see what was happening. Though he was afraid of the monster he could hear shrieking, it sounded like his friend could use his help. So he took a deep breath and dove under the water, looking for the hole the others had escaped from earlier that night.

In the lake, Francis let out an "aha!" when he spotted Alfred's bow. He swam to it and pulled at it, but part of it was stuck in the dirt. Before he knew it, Antonio had jumped in too and pulled the bow up with his motorboat speed. When the two of them resurfaced, Alfred was laying on the ground barely conscious. "Throw the bow!" Gilbert yelled to them. And Antonio did just that, tossing the bow to the shore with Francis still holding onto it. The weapon and attached frog landed right next to Alfred. Francis quickly got up and slapped the prince's cheeks trying to keep him awake. "Wake up, wake up!"

When Alfred opened his eyes, he saw the frog pointing to the bow in front of him. He decided not to question the animal and grabbed his weapon. He picked himself up and reached to his back for his quiver of arrows only to realize that he didn't have it with him. Great, a bow and no arrows. What's he supposed to do with that?

"Alfred!"

Said prince turned to the voice yelling his name. He was surprised to see his best friend Lovino standing at the other side of the lake, dripping wet, and aiming his bow and arrow at him. Good thing Ivan didn't take them from him when he was captured. Finally grateful Roderich had taught them the catch and fire technique, the Italian prince swallowed his fear and released his arrow.

As the Great Animal charged down, getting ready for his final attack, Alfred whirled around and caught the arrow fired at him. He quickly aimed it back at the beast flying at him and released. The arrow shot him right in the heart. Down he fell towards the lake water. Upon impact an explosion of light and colored clouds covered the grounds but soon dissipated. With the death of the sorcerer, the three cursed animals returned to human form. Francis had wavy shoulder length blonde hair, blue eyes, and a light stubble on his chin. Antonio had curled brown hair, green eyes, and tanned skin. And Gilbert was back to his albino self. The three friends hugged and cheered in victory.

"Woohoo!"

"He did it!"

"We're human again!"

But their celebrating soon came to a stop when they remembered one of them was not so lucky. They turned back to Alfred, seeing that he was back by Arthur's side. The prince got down on his knees and pulled the other into his arms once more. "Arthur...I'm sorry...I only wanted to break the spell, I didn't mean for this to happen..." Though he knew he couldn't hear him anymore, he felt he needed to say it. "I love you...your courage, your determination, your stubborness...I love it all, I always have...I just wish I had realized it sooner..." He leaned down, gently kissing Arthur's forehead.

"I love you, too...git..."

Alfred's eyes grew wide as be backed up enough to look down at Arthur's face. When blue eyes met green, Alfred felt he could cry in happiness. Arthur was alive.

"Arthur...!" Alfred held him close in a hug once more, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. The nearby trio resumed their cheering for their friend.

Looks like Alfred was able to be Arthur's hero after all.

* * *

**Woohoo! Happy ending! All we have left is the epilogue, so look forward to that tomorrow!**

**Also, sorry if the fight scene sucked, I've never really been that great at fight scenes.**

**Reviews would be nice!**


	13. Epilogue

**Here it is, the epilogue! This is the end, it's been fun.**

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Chapter 13 - Epilogue

The church bells rang throughout the whole kingdom. All the townspeople came to see the wedding of the century. Prince Alfred and Prince Arthur were finally married. Their kingdoms were united and they would soon be moving into their own castle. The castle of Swan Lake, a wedding gift from its former owner Lord Francis Bonnefoy. Of course it would need a little fixing up, but it would be beautiful again once it was finished.

The newly wed couple came out of the church hand in hand, both wearing white and the crowns of a king and queen. As they descended the stairs, Feliks and Toris followed behind them lifting Alfred's cape and Arthur's veil off the ground. (Alfred insisted Arthur wore a veil even though he refused to wear a dress.) They decided to take Toris in as a servant, knowing that he was sorry and wouldn't have had anything to do with Ivan's plan if his life wasn't at risk. As they followed the couple, Toris glanced to his right at the Polish boy next to him. With a blush dusting his cheeks, he leaned over and kissed Feliks' cheek. Said boy's face turned red.

On the sidelines, Lovino stood by Roderich with his arms crossed and a smug expression. "Looks like you owe me an apology for calling me a coward all these years. If it weren't for me, the Great Animal would still be alive."

Roderich wasn't about to stand there and listen to the Italian's boasting. The musician looked over Lovino's shoulder and put on a fearful expression. "Th-the Great Animal..." he stuttered out, pointing behind Lovino with a shaking finger. "It's alive!" Lovino let out a less than manly shriek before looking behind himself, only to see Roderich was pointing at Elizaveta. "What's alive?" she questioned. Roderich just smiled and took the queen's hand, leading her off to join the festivities. Lovino was left alone to try to catch his breath and calm his heartbeat. It didn't help when a certain Spaniard snuck up behind him and threw an arm around his shoulders. The Italian yelped again and elbowed whoever was behind him. Antonio bent over holding his stomach and groaning in pain. He looked up with one eye open, cracking a smile. "Heh...sorry, I didn't mean to scare you."

"I wasn't scared, idiota!" Lovino blushed.

"You look like a cute tomato~"

"CHIGI!"

* * *

While the kingdom was celebrating, Gilbert was with his new 'soldiers'. He had been appointed head of security by Alfred. "Alright maggots," he always wanted to be a drill sergeant, "I know you would much rather be having a good time, partying and drinking. I know I would. But then who would be on duty to protect the new king and..." The albino had to stifle a laugh. "...queen?" It was then he saw a cute and slightly familiar little Italian boy. Though this one was different from the one he had seen before. This one was smiling. "Never mind boys, you're dismissed!" And Gilbert was gone.

* * *

Later that night at the ball being held in Elizaveta's castle, Francis approached Arthur who since after the marriage didn't have a certain someone right by his side. "Congratulations, Arthur."

"Thank you, Francis. Now if I remember right, I owe you a kiss."

"Oh really?~ Honestly, I had forgotten all about it."

"I wouldn't bet on that." Arthur leaned over and kissed the Frenchman on the cheek. "Hmm...it didn't work."

"What?"

"My kiss didn't work. You're still a frog."

Before Francis could voice how insulted he was, Arthur's new husband came over and wrapped an arm around his queen's waist. "Did I just see you kissing another man?"

"According to Arthur here, I'm just a frog."

Alfred laughed at that. "Then I guess there's no harm done. If you'll excuse us, Francis."

* * *

Alfred led Arthur out to the garden and onto a small bridge over the pond. The moon was full and shining down on them. Arthur couldn't help but think about how beautiful it was reflected in Alfred's blue eyes. "Alfred...will you love me until the day I die?"

"No." Before Arthur could say anything, Alfred continued. "I'll love you much longer than that. Much much longer." To seal the promise they shared a passionate kiss wrapped up in each other's arms.

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**The end! Thank you all so much for reading this, especially those of you who have stuck with me since the beginning. Thank you for all the support and reviews.**

**I do plan on writing the sequel to this, but I have no idea when I'm going to start on that since I wanna take a break from the Swan Princess thing and I have some other stuff I've been wanting to write first. Maybe 50 First Dates, maybe Mamma Mia, maybe Wizard of Oz, I dunno. There are also a couple oneshots I wanna write. But I will write the sequel at some point, it was the whole reason I wrote this one in the first place.**

**See you again!**


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